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KEY      TO      KENTUCKY       TOURS 

1936 

LEGEND 

<••»    MAIN    TOUR 

—     INDEPENDENT    SIDE   TOUR 

DEPENDENT    SIDE    TOUR 

®        END    OF  MAIN    TOUK    SECTIONS 

O        TOWN    OR    CITY 


HORSE   CAVE 
CAVE    CITY 

CENTRAL  BROWNSVILLE 

CITY  Q     MAMMOUT 

CAVE 


I      I6C 

PAOUCAH^  JQSMITHLAND 


r — -r -- 


E        N       N       E       S       S 


LKHORN 
CITY 


V  A. 


OR.  THOMAS    WALKER 
STATE     PARK 


HENDERSON 
SETTLEMENT 
SCHOOL 


KENTUCKY 

A  Guide  to  the  Bluegrass  State 


KENTUCKY 

A  GUIDE  TO  THE  BLUEGRASS  STATE 

Compiled  and  Written  by  the  Federal  Writers9  Project 

of  the  Work  Projects  Administration 

for  the  State  of  Kentucky 


AMERICAN  GUIDE  SERIES 


ILLUSTRATED 


Sponsored  by  the  University  of  Kentucky 
HARCOURT,  BRACE  AND  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK 


COPYRIGHT,  1939,  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  KENTUCKY 


All  rights  are  reserved,  including  the  right  to  reproduce  this  book  or 
parts  thereof  in  any  form. 


first  published  in  October, 


PRINTED  IN  U.S.A.  BY  QUINN  &  BODEN  COMPANY,  INC. 


FEDERAL  WORKS  AGENCY 

WORK  PROJECTS  ADMINISTRATION 

F.  C.  HARRINGTON,  Commissioner 
FLORENCE  KERR,  Assistant  Commissioner 

GEORGE  H.  GOODMAN,  Administrator, 
Kentucky  Work  Projects  Administration 


Foreword 


The  American  Guide  Series,  when  completed,  will  include  a  guide- 
book for  every  State  in  the  Union.  As  each  State  studies  and  describes 
its  history,  natural  endowments,  and  special  interests,  the  paradox  of 
diversity  and  homogeneity  will  become  apparent.  For  each  State  has 
a  special  personality  due  to  its  topography,  people,  and  culture,  while 
certain  qualities  and  interests  bind  all  the  States  together. 

These  guidebooks  will  find  place  in  schools,  colleges,  and  libraries; 
and  private  individuals  will  consult  them  for  information  available 
elsewhere  only  in  word-of-mouth  tradition  or  obscure  archives  and 
files.  For  these  volumes  are  more  than  simply  guidebooks:  they  are 
wide-angle  reference  books  as  well.  And  this  is  not  to  say  that  the 
guide  aspect  has  been  neglected — to  be  reassured  on  this  point  one 
needs  only  to  read  with  attention  one  of  the  many  tours  included. 

The  account  of  Kentucky's  settlement  and  of  the  brave  adventure 
of  its  great  men  has  brought  romance  and  charm  to  novels,  poems, 
and  stories  which  have  carried  the  name  of  Kentucky  far  and  wide 
and  have  endeared  the  State  to  many  who  live  beyond  its  borders. 
Readers  have  been  harrowed  by  details  of  poverty  and  hard  living, 
or  soothed  by  the  picturesque.  In  the  present  guidebook  they  will 
learn  things  about  the  State  that  will  give  them  a  more  rounded  and 
balanced  picture.  Kentucky's  culture,  only  a  century  and  a  half  old, 
has  been  enriched  by  the  customs  and  traditions  of  other  regions  and 
other  lands.  Kentucky  was  the  crossroads  of  migration,  both  from  the 
seaboard  and  from  Europe,  as  the  pioneers  moved  west  or  south. 
People  flowed  into  the  State,  some  to  remain,  some  to  continue  their 
journeys,  but  in  either  case  they  made  a  contribution.  The  traveler 
today  will  find  evidences  not  only  of  earlier  white  culture  and  of  the 
progress  that  has  been  made  in  the  past  fifty  years,  but  also  traces  of 
prehistoric  occupation. 

For  many  years  I  have  been  thinking  about  a  book  on  the  subject, 
"Why  are  Kentuckians  as  they  are?"  I  have  thought  of  the  early 
pioneers,  their  contributions  to  Kentucky,  the  settlements  they  estab- 
lished, the  houses  they  built,  and  the  civilization  that  was  erected  on 

vii 


Vlll  FOREWORD 

these  foundations.  It  is  a  complicated  and  fascinating  subject.  The 
present  book  furnishes  a  broad  basis  for  knowing  the  State  that  every 
Kentuckian  loves  so  devotedly;  moreover,  it  suggests  again  and  again 
the  courtesy,  the  graciousness,  and  the  charm  of  Jiving  that  are  tradi- 
tional here. 

The  articles  in  this  book  have  described  Kentucky  scenes,  resources, 
and  attitudes.  Photographs  and  maps  strengthen  the  written  word. 
The  traveler  will  rejoice  that  touring  routes  have  been  planned  to  re- 
veal the  most  significant  aspects  of  the  State,  and  the  interest  of  his 
journeys  into  Kentucky  will  be  greatly  enhanced  if  he  has  this  book. 
While  the  reader  turns  the  pages  let  him  remember  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  say  everything  that  he  would  wish  said,  or  to  say  it  as  he  would 
wish  it  said.  Anyone  who  knows  the  difficulty  of  bringing  unity  to  a 
guidebook  will  be  pleased  by  the  accomplishment  of  the  State  director 
and  of  the  staff  writers.  We  are  thankful  that  the  Kentucky  Guide  is 
a  reality,  and  we  are  grateful  to  all  those  who  have  contributed  their 
time  and  talents  to  add  to  our  pleasure  and  our  understanding. 

FRANK  L.  McVEY, 

President,  University  of  Kentucky 
Lexington,  Kentucky 
July  1,  1939 


Preface 


A  commonwealth,  in  its  most  vital  aspects,  expresses  itself  through 
its  people,  whose  characteristics  distinguish  but  do  not  separate  them 
from  their  neighbors.  The  differences  need  not  necessarily  be  ethnic, 
but  it  is  likely  that  speech  and  customs  and  points  of  view  may  be 
traced  to  an  ancestry,  itself  marked  and  enduring.  This  is  evidently 
the  case  with  the  people  of  Kentucky.  It  is  not  by  idle  chance  that 
they  admit  with  pride,  sometimes  with  arrogance,  that  they  are  not  the 
same  as  those  who  face  them  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Ohio  River. 

It  follows  that  a  guidebook  to  Kentucky  should  be  something  more 
than  pages  devoted  to  its  natural  wonders,  climate,  products,  and  his- 
tory. It  should  seek  to  catch  that  spirit,  indefinable  but  very  real, 
which  has  transformed  Stephen  Foster's  "My  Old  Kentucky  Home" 
into  something  like  a  national  ballad,  poignant  and  tender,  with  per- 
sonal appeal  for  Kentuckians.  To  retain  that  atmosphere,  to  make 
the  Kentuckian,  his  land,  and  his  background  more  understandable  to 
those  outside  the  State,  has  been  one  endeavor  in  the  present  volume. 
Another,  and  perhaps  more  useful  purpose,  has  been  to  tell  the  Ken- 
tuckian himself  of  the  natural  resources  that  are  his  heritage,  to  invite 
him  to  take  stock,  as  it  were,  of  the  opportunities  which  lie  at  his  door. 

But  the  State  is  well  worth  the  attention  of  the  visitor  who  travels 
to  enjoy  and  to  learn.  It  is  primarily  rural,  and  its  one  large  city, 
Louisville,  lies  on  the  northern  boundary.  It  has  its  "rocks  and  rills" 
of  surpassing  beauty,  the  remains  of  an  untamed  wilderness.  It  is  for 
this  reason  most  of  all  that  this  book,  like  its  forty-seven  companions, 
includes  numerous  meticulously  detailed  tours  through  the  State,  care- 
fully traveled  and  checked  for  accuracy.  This  section  of  the  Guide 
should  be  helpful  to  visitors  and  instructive  for  stay-at-homes. 

The  research  and  the  industry  which  have  gone  into  this  work,  can- 
not be  too  gratefully  acknowledged.  The  book  is  submitted  with  mod- 
esty, and  also  with  intimate  satisfaction  in  the  co-operation  without 
which  it  could  never  have  been  completed. 

Specialists,  many  of  whom  volunteered  their  services,  read  and  criti- 
cized all  copy  prepared  by  the  editorial  staff;  in  some  cases  they  pre- 

ix 


X  PREFACE 

pared  the  more  technical  articles.  State  representatives,  formally  ap- 
pointed by  several  organizations,  have  been  consulted  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  Guide.  These  include  the  Kentucky  Chapter  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Architects,  the  Association  of  American  Railroads,  and 
the  National  Bus  Traffic  Association  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Na- 
tional Association  of  Motor  Bus  Operators,  and  the  American  Hotel 
Association. 

The  editors  acknowledge  with  gratitude  the  help  given  by  specialists 
in  various  fields:  Rexford  Newcomb,  Dean  of  the  College  of  Fine  Arts 
and  Applied  Design,  University  of  Illinois,  who  wrote  the  article  Ken- 
tucky Architecture;  T.  D.  Clark,  Department  of  History,  University 
of  Kentucky,  for  the  article  Kentuckians ,  Who  and  What  They  Are; 
C.  J.  Bradley  and  S.  E.  Wrather,  Department  of  Agriculture,  Univer- 
sity of  Kentucky;  Grant  C.  Knight,  Department  of  English,  University 
of  Kentucky;  Frank  T.  McFarland  and  Hansford  T.  Shacklette,  De- 
partment of  Botany,  University  of  Kentucky;  Gordon  Wilson  and  L.  Y. 
Lancaster,  Western  Kentucky  State  Teachers  College;  H.  J.  Thornton, 
editor  of  the  Louisville  Board  of  Trade  Journal;  Andrew  K.  Rule, 
Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary,  Louisville;  and  Kincaid  Herr,  asso- 
ciate editor,  L.  &  N.  Magazine. 

Acknowledgment  for  assistance  in  securing  and  preparing  material 
is  also  made  to  Joe  Hart,  Louisville  Courier -Journal;  C.  W.  Jackson, 
Louisville  Central  Negro  High  School;  M.  E.  Ligon,  Department  of 
Education,  University  of  Kentucky;  Neil  Plummer  and  Victor  Port- 
mann,  Department  of  Journalism,  University  of  Kentucky;  Edward 
W.  Rannells,  Department  of  Art,  University  of  Kentucky;  Lucien 
Beckner,  formerly  a  member  of  the  State  staff  of  the  Federal  Writers' 
Project;  Adele  Brandeis,  State  Director  of  the  Federal  Art  Project; 
the  Standard  Printing  Company,  publisher  of  Mammoth  Cave  and  the 
Cave  Region  of  Kentucky,  for  permission  to  use  material;  David  W. 
Maurer,  Department  of  English,  University  of  Louisville;  Preston 
Hinebaugh,  Ohio  Horse  Breeders'  Association;  and  Donald  Kays,  De- 
partment of  Animal  Husbandry,  Ohio  State  University.  Many  others, 
too  numerous  to  list,  have  assisted  in  various  ways. 

It  is  our  hope  that  the  interest  and  pride  that  all  have  taken  in  the 
preparation  of  the  Kentucky  Guide  will  be  justified. 

U.  R.  BELL, 

State  Director 


Contents 


.FOREWORD  BY  FRANK  L.  MC  VEY,  President,  University  of  Kentucky        vii 

PREFACE:  State  Director,  Federal  Writers'  Project  ix 

GENERAL  INFORMATION  xxiii 

CALENDAR  OF  EVENTS  xxvii 

Part  I.  Kentucky:  The  General  Background 

KENTUCKIANS  3 

NATURAL  SETTING  7 

ARCHEOLOGY  AND  INDIANS  28 

HISTORY  35 

AGRICULTURE  SO 

TRANSPORTATION  56 

MANUFACTURING  AND  MINING  60 

LABOR  66 

THE  NEGRO  72 

RELIGION  77 

EDUCATION  83 

FOLKLORE  AND  FOLK  MUSIC  89 

KENTUCKY  THOROUGHBREDS  94 

PRESS  AND  RADIO  102 

THE  ARTS  HO 

Part  II.  Cities  and  Towns 

ASHLAND  .  139 

COVINGTON  I47 

FRANKFORT  157 

HARRODSBURG  168 

LOUISVILLE  175 

LEXINGTON  i97 

PADUCAH  221 

xi 


Xll  CONTENTS 


Part  III.  Highways  and  Byways 

TOUR     1     (Portsmouth,  Ohio)— South  Portsmouth— Ashland— Catlettsburg 

— Paintsville— Prestonsburg— Pikeville—  (Norton,  Va.) .  [US  23]     233 

2  Winchester — Stanton — Jackson — Hazard — Junction  with 

US  119.  [State  15]     242 

3  (Cincinnati,  Ohio) — Newport — Cynthiana — Paris — Lexington — 

Nicholasville — Lancaster — Somerset — (Chattanooga,  Tenn.) . 

[US  27]  246 

Section  a.  Ohio  Line  to  Lexington  246 

Section  b.  Lexington  to  Tennessee  Line  253 

4  (Cincinnati,  Ohio) — Covington — Georgetown — Lexington — 

Richmond — Corbin — Williamsburg — ( Jellico,  Tenn.) . 

[US  25  and  US  25W]  261 

Section  a.  Ohio  Line  to  Lexington  262 

Section  b.  Lexington  to  Tennessee  Line  266 

4A  Junction  with  US  25 — Pineville — Middlesboro — Cumberland 

Gap—  (Tazewell,  Tenn.).  [US  25E]    274 

4s  Corbin— Cumberland  Falls  State  Park— Parker's  Lake.  [State  90]     279 

5  Warsaw — Frankfort — Lawrenceburg — Harrodsburg — Danville — 

Jamestown— Albany— (Chattanooga,  Tenn.).  [State  35]    280 

6  (Indianapolis,  Ind.) — Louisville — Bardstown — Hodgenville — 

Glasgow— Scottsville— (Nashville,  Tenn.) .  [US  31E]     288 

7  (New  Albany,  Ind.) — Louisville — Elizabethtown — Munfordville — 

Horse  Cave — Bowling  Green — Franklin — (Nashville,  Tenn.). 

[US31W]     296 

7A  Cave  City — Mammoth  Cave  National  Park — Mammoth 

Cave.  [State  70]    309 

8  (Evansville,  Ind.) — Henderson — Madisonville — Hopkinsville — 

Guthrie— (Nashville,  Tenn.).  [US  41  and  US  41E]     315 

9  (Metropolis,  111.)—  Paducah— Mayfield— Fulton— 

(Martin,  Tenn.).  [US  45]    322 

10     (Cairo,  111.)— Wickliffe— Bardwell— Clinton— Fulton— 

(Memphis,  Tenn.).  [US  51]    324 

•     11     South    Portsmouth — Vanceburg — Maysville — Alexandria. 

[State  10]    329 

12  (Cincinnati,  Ohio) — Covington — Warsaw — Carrollton — 

Louisville.  [US  42]     334 

12A  Junction  with  US  42 — Butler  Memorial  State  Park — Owenton — 

Junction  with  State  40.  [US  227]    341 

13  Willow — Falmouth — Owenton — New  Castle — Junction  with 

US  60.  [State  22]     344 


CONTENTS  xiii 

TOUR  14     (Aberdeen,  Ohio) — Maysville — Georgetown — Versailles — Bards- 
town — Elizabethtown — Central  City — Paducah.  [US  62]  351 
Section  a.  Ohio  Line  to  Elizabethtown  351 
Section  b.  Elizabethtown  to  Paducah  355 

15  (Aberdeen,    Ohio) — Maysville — Lexington — Harrodsburg — Bards- 

town — Hodgenville — Cave  City — Bowling  Green — Paducah. 

[US  68]  362 

Section  a.  Ohio  Line  to  Lexington  362 

Section  b.  Lexington  to  Bowling  Green  374 

Section  c.  Bowling  Green  to  Paducah  382 

16  (Huntington,  W.  Va.) — Ashland — Owingsville — Mount  Sterling — 
Winchester — Lexington — Versailles — Frankfort — Louisville — Hen- 
derson— Paducah— Wickliffe— ( Charleston,  Mo.).  [US  60]  387 

Section  a.  West  Virginia  Line  to  Lexington  387 

Section  b.  Lexington  to  Louisville  396 

Section  c.  Louisville  to  Missouri  Line  400 

17  Warfield — Paintsville — Mount  Sterling — Georgetown — 

Junction  with  US  60.  [State  40]  414 

17A  Paris— Boonesboro— Richmond.  [US  227]  419 

18  Junction  with  US  23 — Hindman — Somerset — Columbia — 

Glasgow— Junction  with  US  31W-68.  [State  80]  424 

19  (Williamson,  W.  Va.)— Pikeville— Jenkins— Junction  with 

US  2SE.  [US  119]  433 

20  Burnside — Monticello — Albany — Burkesville — Glasgow.  [State  90]  441 

Part  IV.  Appendices 

CHRONOLOGY  451 

SELECTIVE  BIBLIOGRAPHY  462 

INDEX  471 


List  of  Illustrations 


I.  The  Natural  Setting  14 

BREAKS  OF  SANDY  (Caufield  &  Shook) 
CUMBERLAND  FALLS     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
CUMBERLAND  GAP     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
KNOB  COUNTRY     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
KENTUCKY  RIVER  PALISADES     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

SKYLINE  NATURAL  BRIDGE,  CUMBERLAND  NATIONAL 
FOREST     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

LOOKING  UP  THE  OHIO  TOWARD  CLOVERPORT    (Caufield  & 
Shook) 

THE  KENTUCKY  RIVER  AT  CAMP  NELSON     (Lafayette  Studio) 
ECHO  RIVER  IN  MAMMOTH  CAVE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
GOTHIC  AVENUE  IN  MAMMOTH  CAVE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
RUINS  OF  KARNAK  IN  MAMMOTH  CAVE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
CHIMNEY  ROCK,  NEAR  DANVILLE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 


II.  Historic  Pages  28 

DANIEL  BOONE'S  ARRIVAL  WITH  NORTH  CAROLINIANS; 
MURAL  IN  POST  OFFICE,  LEXINGTON  (Painting  by  Ward 
Lock-wood) 

LINCOLN  MEMORIAL,  NEAR  HODGENVILLE     (Caufield  & 
Shook) 

PIONEER  MEMORIAL,  HARRODSBURG     (Simmons  Studio) 

BIRTHPLACE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  MEMORIAL  (Caufield 
&  Shook) 

OLD  CAPITOL,  FRANKFORT     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

THE  CAPITOL,  FRANKFORT     (Aero-Graphic  Corporation) 

OLD  FAYETTE  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  LEXINGTON  (La- 
fayette Studio) 

XV 


Xvi  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

INTERIOR  FEDERAL  HILL,  "MY  OLD  KENTUCKY  HOME," 
NEAR  BARDSTOWN     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

FEDERAL  HILL,  "MY  OLD  KENTUCKY  HOME"     (Caufield  & 
Shook) 

ASHLAND,  HOME  OF  HENRY  CLAY,  LEXINGTON     (Lafayette 
Studio) 

JOHN  HUNT  MORGAN  HOME,  LEXINGTON     (Lafayette  Studio) 

JEFFERSON   COUNTY   COURTHOUSE,   LOUISVILLE     (Caufield 
&  Shook) 


III.  Architecture  42 

DIAMOND  POINT,  HARRODSBURG     (Simmons  Studio) 
SHROPSHIRE  HOUSE,  GEORGETOWN     (Lafayette  Studio) 
LIBERTY  HALL,  FRANKFORT     (Cusick) 

WILMORE  GARRETT  RESIDENCE,  NEAR  LEXINGTON 

(Lafayette  Studio) 

MCAFEE  HOUSE,  NEAR  HARRODSBURG   (Simmons  studio) 

OLD  KEENE  PLACE,  NEAR  LEXINGTON     (Lafayette  Studio) 
FAIR  OAKS,  NEAR  HARRODSBURG     (Simmons  Studio) 

SCARLET  GATE,  HOME  OF  JAMES  LANE  ALLEN,  NEAR 
LEXINGTON     (Lafayette  Studio) 

CLAY  HILL,  HARRODSBURG     (Simmons  Studio) 
MANSION  MUSEUM,  HARRODSBURG     (Simmons  Studio) 
CARNEAL  HOUSE,  COVINGTON     (Rolsten  Photo  Service) 
WICKLAND,  BARDSTOWN     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

THE  ORLANDO  BROWN  HOUSE,  FRANKFORT     (Caufield  & 
Shook) 

STAIRWAY,  OLD  CAPITOL,  FRANKFORT     (Caufield  &•  Shook) 


IV.  Industry:  Transportation  56 

WATER  FRONT,  LOUISVILLE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
COAL  MINER     (Farm  Security  Administration) 
MODERN  COLLIERY     (Bureau  of  Mines) 
STRIP  MINING     (Caufield  &  Shook) 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  Xvii 

COAL  MINE     (Farm  Security  Administration') 
MISSISSIPPI  RIVER  AT  COLUMBUS     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
ALONG  THE  PINEVILLE-HARLAN  ROAD     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
DIX  DAM,  HERRINGTON  LAKE     (Aero-Graphic  Corporation) 
BARDSTOWN  DISTILLERY     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
TOBACCO  MARKET     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
MULE  DAY     (WPA  Staff  Photographer) 
CHAIR  MAKERS     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

V.  Education  and  Religion  86 

OLD  CENTRE,  CENTRE  COLLEGE,  DANVILLE     (Simmons 
Studio) 

MOUNTAIN  SCHOOL  OF  NATURAL  STONE,  A  WPA  PROJECT 
(WPA  in  Kentucky) 

BEREA  COLLEGE,  BEREA     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

KENTUCKY  SCHOOL  FOR  THE  DEAF,  DANVILLE     (Caufield  & 
Shook) 

THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   KENTUCKY,   AIRVIEW     (Aero-Graphic 
Corporation) 

TRAPPIST    MONASTERY,    GETHSEMANE     (Aero-Graphic    Cor- 
poration) 

AUDUBON  MUSEUM,  HENDERSON     (WPA  in  Kentucky) 
GIDDINGS  HALL,  GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE     (Lafayette  Studio) 
GUEST  HOUSE,  SHAKERTOWN     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

DOORWAY    TO    GUEST    HOUSE,    SHAKERTOWN     (Caufield   & 
Shook) 

SHAKER  CEREMONIES  (Harrodsburg  Herald) 
SHAKER  CEREMONIES  (Harrodsburg  Herald) 
ST.  JOSEPH'S  CHURCH,  BARDSTOWN  (Caufield  &  Shook) 

MUD    MEETING    HOUSE    (c.    1806),    NEAR    HARRODSBURG 

(Simmons  Studio) 


XV111  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

VI.  In  the  Bluegrass  244 

ARISTOCRAT     (Cau field  &  Shook) 

CHURCHILL  DOWNS,  LOUISVILLE     (Caufield  &  -Shook) 

WAR  ADMIRAL,  WINNER  OF  THE  1937  KENTUCKY  DERBY 
(Caufield  &  Shook) 

MAN  O'  WAR     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

COMING  OUT  OF  PADDOCK,  CHURCHILL  DOWNS     (Caufield 
&  Shook) 

BLUE  GRASS  TROTTERS  IN  ACTION     (Lafayette  Studio) 
ON  DIXIANA  FARM     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
STABLES  AT  ELMENDORF     (Lafayette  Studio) 
IDLE  HOUR  STABLE     (Lafayette  Studio) 
SPRING  IN  THE  BLUE  GRASS     (Lafayette  Studio) 

BLESSING    OF    THE    HOUNDS    CEREMONY    BY    IROQUOIS 
HUNT  CLUB     (Lafayette  Studio) 

GRIME'S  MILL  HOUSE,  HEADQUARTERS  OF  IROQUOIS  HUNT 
CLUB     (Lafayette  Studio) 

ROAD  THROUGH  THE  BLUE  GRASS  COUNTRY    (Lafayette 
Studio) 

A  KENTUCKY  PIKE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 


VII.  Along  the  Highway  I  274 

GOLD  DEPOSITORY,  CAMP  KNOX     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
FORT  KNOX     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

INDIAN  BURIAL  GROUND,  WICKLIFFE     (Murray  Hite) 
BRYAN  STATION  SPRING,  LEXINGTON     (Caufield  &  Shook) 
FORT  HARROD,  HARRODSBURG     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

FLOOD  WATERS  REACH  STATUE  OF  CHIEF  PADUKE, 
PADUCAH  (1937)     (WPA  in  Kentucky) 

COVERED  BRIDGE,  CYNTHIANA     (Lafayette  Studio) 

OLD  CANE  RIDGE  MEETING  HOUSE  (1792),  NEAR  PARIS 
(Lafayette  Studio) 

WOOLRIDGE  MONUMENTS,  MAYFIELD     (Murray  Hite) 
MT.  LEBANON,  NEAR  PARIS     (Lafayette  Studio) 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS  xix 

MINING  TOWN     (Farm  Security  Administration) 
THE  FAITH  HEALER     (U.  S.  Forest  Service) 
MINER'S  HOME     (Farm  Security  Administration) 
CUMBERLAND  FALLS  LODGE     (Caufield  &•  Shook") 
ELKHORN  CREEK,  NEAR  LEXINGTON     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

VIII.  Along  the  Highway  II  304 

TROUBLESOME  CREEK  DAM     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

IN  THE  LICKING  RIVER  VALLEY     (Rolsten  Photo  Service) 

SHEEP  GRAZING     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

MOUNTAIN  ROAD     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

THE  PASTURE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

CUTTING  BURLEY  TOBACCO     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

TOBACCO  CURING     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

GRINDING  SORGHUM  CANE     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

BOILING  SORGHUM     (Caufield  &  S.hook) 

MOUNTAIN  CABIN     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

HOME  IN  CUMBERLAND  MOUNTAINS     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

HELL-FER-SARTAIN  CREEK     (Caufield  &  Shook) 

HOME     (Farm  Security  Administration) 

BULLETIN  BOARD  OF  FARMERS  EXCHANGE,  OWENSBORO 

(Farm  Security  Administration) 


List  of  Maps 


KEY  TO  KENTUCKY  TOURS  front  end  paper 

KENTUCKY  STATE  MAP  back  pocket 

TRANSPORTATION  reverse  of  State  map 

EASTERN  MOUNTAINS  9 

BLUEGRASS  AND  KNOB  COUNTRY  17 

PENNYRILE  AND  WESTERN  COAL  FIELDS  20  and  21 

THE  JACKSON  PURCHASE  23 

ASHLAND  145 

COVINGTON  153 

FRANKFORT  163 

LOUISVILLE  187 

LEXINGTON  203 

LEXINGTON  HORSE  FARM  TOUR  211 

PADUCAH  227 


General  Information 

(State  map  showing  highways,  and  maps  giving  railroad,  air, 
bus,  and  water  transport  routes,  in  pocket  inside  back  cover) 


Railroads:  Baltimore  &  Ohio  R.R.  (B&O);  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry. 
(C&O);  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  Ry.  (Big  Four, 
N.  Y.  Central  System) ;  Chicago,  Indianapolis  &  Louisville  Ry. 
(Monon  Route);  Frankfort  &  Cincinnati  R.R.  (F&C);  Flemingsburg 
&  Northern  R.R.  (F&N);  Illinois  Central  R.R.  (1C);  Louisville  & 
Nashville  R.R.  (L&N);  Mobile  &  Ohio  R.R.  (M&O);  Nashville, 
Chattanooga  &  St.  Louis  Ry.  (NC&St.L);  Pennsylvania  R.R.  (PRR); 
Southern  Ry.  (Southern)  (see  Transportation  map). 

Bus  Lines:  Blue  Ribbon  Lines,  Gibbs  Bus  Line,  Greyhound  Lines, 
Meadors  &  Allen,  Mohawk  Stages,  and  Southern  Limited  furnish 
scheduled  interstate  service.  Many  other  lines  furnish  intrastate 
service. 

Air  Lines:  American  Airlines  (Cleveland,  Fort  Worth,  Los  Angeles); 
Eastern  Airlines  (Chicago,  Miami)  (see  Transportation  map). 

Highways:  Fifteen  Federal  highways.  Even  numbers  run  east  and 
west;  US  60  is  transcontinental.  Odd  numbers  run  north  and  south. 
State  highway  patrolled.  Gas  tax  6#.  (See  State  map  for  routes.) 

Motor  Vehicle  Laws  (digest):  Maximum  speed,  40  m.p.h.,  not  en- 
forced; greater  speed  permitted  when  practicable;  residential  sections 
and  curves,  20  m.p.h.;  congested  areas,  15  m.p.h.  No  licenses  required 
for  nonresidents  over  16  yrs.  of  age  provided  driver  has  a  home  State 
license.  Hand  signals  must  be  used. 

Warning:  Persons  charged  with  operating  motor  vehicles  in  Louisville 
while  drunk  or  under  the  influence  of  liquor  upon  conviction  will  be 
fined  $19  and  sentenced  to  nine  days'  imprisonment.  From  such  penal- 
ties the  law  allows  no  appeals,  age,  sex,  color  or  social  pretensions  not- 
withstanding. Sternly  enforced. 

xxiii 


XXIV  GENERAL   INFORMATION 

Prohibited:  Operation  of  automobiles  by  persons  under  16  yrs.  of  age 
unaccompanied  by  person  over  21  yrs.  of  age.  Parking  on  highways 
(see  General  Information  for  large  cities  for  local  traffic  regulations). 

Recreational  Areas  and  Accommodations:  Mammoth  Cave  National 
Park  (see  Tours  7  and  6):  two  new  modern  hotels,  rates  from  $1; 
guides  compulsory,  available  day  and  night,  fee  of  $2  covers  admission, 
no  tax;  open  all  year;  temperature  in  cave  remains  54°  F.  throughout 
year.  Cumberland  Falls  State  Park  (see  Tours  3  and  4),  open 
May  15-Oct.  1,  overnight  camping,  25^;  State-owned  DuPont  Lodge, 
rate  per  day  from  $2;  Moonbow  Inn,  per  day  from  $1.50;  15  cabins, 
rate  per  day  per  couple  $2,  75^  for  extra  lodgers;  modern  conveniences. 
Butler  Memorial  State  Park  (see  Tour  12),  May  15-Oct.  1,  boating 
on  Lake  Butler  25^;  fishing  25^;  overnight  camping  25^;  cabins. 
Columbus-Belmont  State  Park  (see  Tour  10):  recreational  facilities 
and  cabins.  Levi  Jackson  Wilderness  Road  State  Park  (see  Tour  4): 
overnight  camping  25^;  fishing  and  swimming  25^;  cabins,  picnic 
grounds,  camping,  all  improvements.  Pine  Mountain  State  Park  (see 
Tour  4 A):  open-air  auditorium,  picnic  grounds,  observation  tower. 
Natural  Bridge  State  Park  (see  Tour  2):  Hemlock  Lodge,  cabins,  auto 
bridge.  Audubon  Memorial  State  Park  (see  Tours  8  and  16):  shelter 
houses,  picnic  tables,  tearoom  and  lake.  Dawson  Springs  State  Park 
(see  Tour  14):  picnic  grounds,  trails,  shelter  house.  Blue  and  Gray 
State  Park  (see  Tour  20):  golf  links,  cabins,  shelter  houses,  picnic 
tables  and  ovens,  lake.  Pioneer  Memorial  State  Park  (see  Tours  5 
and  15) :  museum,  cabins  in  the  fort,  Lincoln  Chapel.  Blue  Licks  Bat- 
tlefield State  Park  (see  Tour  15):  overnight  camping  25^,  museum, 
open-air  auditorium,  trails.  Cumberland  National  Forest:  992,605 
acres;  camps.  Admission  to  recreational  areas,  adults  10^,  children 
S#,  except  Pioneer  Memorial  State  Park — adults  25^,  children  10^  and 
Blue  Licks  Battlefield  State  Park— adults  1S#,  children  5#;  Cumber- 
land National  Forest,  no  charge. 

General  Accommodations:  Few  in  eastern  Kentucky  except  in  larger 
towns;  adequate  elsewhere  in  State. 

General  Service  for  Tourists:  AAA  in  larger  towns,  also  Courier- Journal 
in  Louisville.  When  road  conditions  are  doubtful,  information  should 
be  obtained  at  nearest  filling  station,  especially  in  eastern  Kentucky. 


GENERAL   INFORMATION  XXV 

Poisonous  Snakes  and  Plants:  Rattlesnakes,  copperheads,  and  cotton- 
mouth  moccasins  are  uncommon  except  in  southern  and  northwest  sec- 
tion of  the  State  and  in  cypress  swamps.  Poison  ivy  and  poison  sumac 
common  in  wooded  areas. 

Climate  and  Equipment:  Summer  travelers  should  be  prepared  for  very 
warm  weather,  especially  in  July  and  August.  Spring  days  are  inter- 
mittently cool  and  warm,  with  frequent  showers  and  late  snow  flurries. 
Topcoats  needed.  Winters  generally  cold,  with  heavy  frosts  and  some- 
times snow.  In  mountainous  areas  the  snow  glazes  into  dangerously 
slippery  ice  and  extreme  caution  is  necessary,  especially  on  the  north 
side  of  hills.  Frozen  dirt  edges  of  mountain  roads  should  be  avoided. 

Fish  and  Game  Laws  (digest) :  Game  fish  defined  as  black  bass,  trout, 
crappie,  rock  bass  or  goggle-eye. 

Open  Season  for  Fishing:  All  months  except  May. 

Fishing  License:  Nonresident,  $2.50.  Seven-day  nonresident  fishing,  $1. 

Limits:  Black  bass  and  trout  limit,  10  per  day,  not  more  than  20  in 
possession  at  one  time;  unlawful  under  11  in.  Crappie  limit  IS  per 
day;  not  more  than  30  in  possession  at  one  time;  unlawful  under 
eight  in. 

Open  Season  for  Hunting  (dates  inclusive):  Quail,  Nov.  24- Jan.  9; 
wild  turkey  and  imported  pheasant  protected  at  all  times,  no  open 
season;  doves,  12  M.  to  6  P.M.,  Sept.  1-Dec.  15;  woodcock,  Nov.  15- 
Dec.  3 1 ;  jacksnipe,  wild  duck,  and  wild  geese,  State  law  in  conflict 
with  Federal  regulations — comply  with  Federal  regulations.  English 
sparrows,  great  horned  owl,  sharp-shinned  hawk,  crow  and  crow- 
blackbird,  not  protected;  deer  and  elk  protected  at  all  times,  no  open 
season;  rabbit,  Nov.  25-Jan.  9;  squirrels,  Aug.  1-Nov.  1;  woodchuck 
or  ground  hog,  not  protected;  beaver,  raccoon,  mink,  otter,  skunk  and 
opossum  lawful  to  kill  Nov.  15-Dec.  31. 

Hunting  License:  Nonresident,  $10.50.    Resident,  $1.00. 

Limits:  Quail,  12  per  day,  season  limit  75,  penalty  for  violation  $15 
to  $50  per  quail;  doves,  15  per  day;  woodcock,  6  per  day,  not  over 
24  in  possession  at  one  time. 


Calendar  of  Events 


(nfd  means  no  fixed  date) 


Jan. 


4th  Mon. 

nfd 

nfd 


Princeton 
Louisville 
Louisville 


Feb. 

3rd  Mon. 

Mayfield 

Mar. 

4th  Mon. 

Murray 

Apr. 

nfd 

Bowling  Green 

nfd 

Louisville 

nfd 

Louisville 

nfd 

Louisville 

nfd 

Louisville 

nfd 

Louisville 

nfd 


Louisville 


nfd  Lexington 

nfd  Morehead 

nfd  Murray 
last  wk  or  1st 

wk  of  May  Louisville 


May       1st  Sun. 
Istwk 

2dwk 
2d  Sat. 

4th  Sun. 


Scottsville 
Lexington 

Louisville 
Louisville 

Benton 


Farm  Bureau  Meeting 
Band  and  Orchestra  Clinic 
Louisville    Art    Association 
Exhibition 

Mule  Day 

Mule  Trading  Day 

Academic  Music  Festival 

Physical  Education  Festival 

Boy  Scout  Circus 

Easter  Monday  Charity  Ball 

Junior  League  Fashion  Show 

Kentucky  Education  Asso- 
ciation Meeting 

State  Spelling  Bee  (in  con- 
nection with  K.  E.  A. 
meeting) 

Keeneland  Races 

Foster  Festival 

Academic  Music  Festival 

Spring  Meet  at  Churchill 
Downs 

Allen  County  Singing  Con- 
vention 

University  of  Kentucky  Gar- 
den Day 

Kentucky  Derby  Festival 

Kentucky  Derby,  Churchill 
Downs 

Old  Southern  Harmony  Sing- 
ing Festival 


XXVll 


XXV111 

CALENDAR    OF 

May 

30 

Paducah 

nfd 

Kentucky 

nfd 

Bowling  Green 

nfd 

Lexington 

nfd 

Louisville 

nfd 

Louisville 

nfd 

Pineville 

late  May  or 

early  June 

Pineville 

June 

7 

Frankfort 

12 

Springfield 

15 

Parksville 

July 


Aug. 


2d  Sun. 


nfd 
nfd 
nfd 
nfd 


4 
16 


Near  Ashland 


Covington 
Paducah 
Beaver  Dam 
Louisville 


Bardstown 
Harrodsburg 


2d  or  3d  wk      Louisville 
nfd  Louisville 


nfd 
nfd 
nfd 


Crestwood 
Louisville 
Near  Henderson 


Sept.       2d  or  3d  wk       Louisville 


last  wk 
nfd 


Quicksand 
Louisville 


Boy  Scout  Circus 

State   Federation   of  Music 

Clubs  Meeting 
Music  Festival 
High  School  Music  Contests 
Garden  Tours 
Kennel  Club  Spring  Show 
Music    Festival    and    Band 

Concert 

Mountain  Laurel  Festival 

Boone  Day  Celebration 

Lincoln  Marriage  Festival 

"Blessing  of  the  Berries" 
(festival  in  connection 
with  the  raspberry  crop) 

American  Folk  Song  Fes- 
tival: Traipsin'  Woman's 
Cabin 

Latonia  Races 

Strawberry  Producers'  Revel 

Strawberry  Carnival 

Annual  Board  of  Trade  Out- 
ing 

Stephen  Collins  Foster  Fes- 
tival 

Kentucky  Pioneer  Memorial 
Celebration 

Boat  Regatta 

State  Tennis  Tournaments 

Kavanaugh  Camp  Meeting 
Fall  Market  Week 
Dade  Park  Races 

State    Fair,    State    Fair 

Grounds 
Fall  Festival 
Junior  League  Fashion  Show 


CALENDAR    OF    EVENTS 


XXIX 


Sept.      nfd  Middlesboro  Tri-State  Fair 

nfd  Stanford  Historical  Pageant 

Oct.  1st  wk  Louisville  No- jury  Exhibition  of  Fine 

and  Practical  Arts  (for 
Kentucky  and  Southern 
Indiana) 

1st  Sun.  Scottsville  Allen  County  Singing  Con- 

vention 

last  wk  Louisville  Fall  Meet  at  Churchill 

Downs 

nfd  Barbourville  Dahlia  Show 

nfd  Lexington  Annual  Trotting  Races 

Nov.       11  Louisville  Armistice  Day  Parade  and 

Celebration 
last  wk  Lexington  Tobacco  Festival 

Dec.       nfd  Louisville  Associated     Industries     of 

Kentucky  Meeting 
nfd  Richmond  Oratorio  Music  Festival 


Parti 

Kentucky:  The  General 
Background 


KENTUCKIANS 


KENTUCKY  is  far  from  being  a  unified  region.  Though  known 
as  the  Bluegrass  State,  it  divides  into  three  sections  which 
differ  as  sharply  in  geography,  culture,  economic  activity,  and  social 
habit  as  if  they  were  widely  separated  areas.  These  are  the  Blue- 
grass,  the  Eastern  Mountains,  and  Western  Kentucky.  Each  is  popu- 
lated by  people  who  have  adjusted  themselves  to  their  environment, 
and  who  in  the  process  have  developed  habits  and  attitudes  differing 
markedly  from  those  of  their  fellows  in  the  other  divisions.  Literature 
concerning  Kentucky  often  fails  clearly  to  identify  the  section  which 
forms  its  locale,  and  readers  unacquainted  with  local  conditions  are 
apt  to  mistake  a  single  section  for  the  State  as  a  whole. 

Except  for  Louisville,  Kentucky  has  no  large  industrial  centers.  Most 
of  its  2,900,000  people  dwell  in  small  rural  communities.  Like  other 
agrarian  folk  they  bear  the  mark  of  their  association  with  the  soil.  The 
rural  Kentuckian,  whether  clad  in  faded  overalls  or  imported  woolens, 
is  an  individualist.  The  rustic  lolling  at  the  street  corners  of  towns  and 
villages  may  give  every  evidence  of  being  lost  or  out  of  place;  but  try 
to  get  the  better  of  him  in  a  trade  and  often  he  will  prove  master  of 
the  situation.  He  may  be  ragged,  dirty,  and  ignorant,  but  he  is  still 
endowed  with  something  of  the  unawed  self-reliance  and  resourceful 
wit  of  the  pioneer. 

Wherever  a  Kentuckian  may  be,  he  is  more  than  willing  to  boast  of 
the  beauties  and  virtues  of  his  native  State.  He  believes  without  reser- 
vation that  Kentucky  is  the  garden  spot  of  the  world,  and  is  ready  to 
dispute  with  anyone  who  questions  the  claim.  In  his  enthusiasm  for  his 
State  he  compares  with  the  Methodist  preacher  whom  Timothy  Flint 
heard  tell  a  congregation  that  "Heaven  is  a  Kentucky  of  a  place." 
After  describing  the  material  and  cultural  well-being  of  the  State,  the 
Kentuckian  is  likely  to  begin  on  its  brilliant  history.  But,  unless  he  is 
engaged  in  historical  research,  the  native  son's  history  of  Kentucky  does 
not  chiefly  refer  to  the  part  played  by  the  State  in  the  westward  expan- 
sion of  the  Nation,  to  the  frontier  democracy  established  by  pioneer 

3 


4  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

statesmen  on  Kentucky  soil,  or  to  the  State  constitution  that  was 
framed  at  a  time  when  it  was  difficult  to  gain  majority  approval  for 
any  act  of  polity.  The  native  son  has  not  pursued  his  subject  through 
the  trying  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century,  nor  has  he  given  much 
thought  to  the  State's  role  in  the  twentieth.  History,  to  him,  centers  on 
his  family.  When  his  ancestors  crossed  the  Appalachians,  the  family 
was  the  core  of  community  life,  and  the  Kentuckian  has  never  lost  sight 
of  the  importance  of  his  family  attachment.  His  main  personal  concern 
is  his  family's  welfare.  Many  Kentuckians.,  especially  women,  spend 
much  time  searching  genealogical  records,  not  to  prove  themselves 
descended  from  prominent  persons,  but  from  sheer  love  of  becoming 
familiar  with  their  personal  pedigrees. 

The  Kentuckian's  love  of  family  is  often  illustrated  in  the  way  in 
which  politicians  elected  to  office  give  public  jobs  to  their  kinsmen.  In 
many  instances  the  victorious  Kentucky  politician  honestly  fails  to 
understand  why  there  is  anything  blamable  in  such  conduct.  When  a 
kinsman  needs  a  job,  "nepotism"  is  only  a  word.  And  it  is  difficult  to 
place  a  limit  on  a  Kentuckian's  sense  of  kinsmanship.  Parents,  grand- 
parents, brothers,  sisters,  aunts,  uncles,  and  cousins  are  part  of  any 
family  pattern;  but  to  the  list  of  a  Kentuckian's  cousins  there  seems 
no  end.  There  are  not  only  first  and  second  cousins ;  there  are  cousins 
even  to  the  tenth  degree  removed.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  every 
mountaineer  is  related  to  every  other  mountaineer;  but  the  same  ob- 
servation applies  to  a  considerable  extent  to  people  everywhere  in  the 
State. 

Next  to  his  family,  a  Kentuckian's  home  community  occupies  the 
place  of  importance  in  his  fancy.  When  viewed  from  a  national  stand- 
point the  State  itself  is  of  major  importance,  but  on  his  home  ground 
a  Kentuckian  never  forgets  his  native  county.  He  may  move  to  Lexing- 
ton, Bowling  Green,  or  Louisville  during  his  mature  years,  but  he  con- 
tinuously looks  with  reverence  upon  the  place  of  his  birth.  Visitors  to 
many  Kentucky  communities  will  be  impressed  in  finding  there  some 
of  the  important  relics  of  American  history.  Not  only  have  local  his- 
torians and  anthropologists  collected  important  historical  relics,  but 
they  have  also  armed  themselves  with  much  historical  information  con- 
cerning their  community's  place  in  history.  A  traveler  can,  if  he  is 
lucky,  locate  the  places  where  "D.  Boon  cilled  a  bar  on  this  tree  in 
1760";  where  John  Fitch  "invented"  the  steamboat;  where  Kit  Carson 
was  born;  where  Joseph  Bruen  built  a  locomotive;  where  the  first  rail- 
road of  the  West  was  built ;  where  scores  of  battles  were  fought ;  where 


KENTUCKIANS  5 

Abraham  Lincoln  and  Jefferson  Davis  were  born;  where  "Uncle  Tom" 
was  sold;  where  courthouses  were  scarred  by  bullets  from  feudists' 
guns,  and  innumerable  other  points  of  interest.  All  of  this  colorful 
background  is  grist  to  the  local  historians'  mill,  and  it  is  used  to  good 
advantage. 

The  average  Kentuckian  may  appear  a  bit  confused  in  his  knowledge 
of  history,  but  he  is  firmly  certain  about  current  politics.  Kentucky 
cannot  claim  first  place  in  political  importance,  but  it  tops  the  list  in 
its  keen  enjoyment  of  politics  for  its  own  sake.  It  takes  the  average 
Kentuckian  only  a  matter  of  moments  to  dispose  of  the  weather  and 
personal  health,  but  he  never  tires  of  a  political  discussion.  Perhaps  the 
most  obvious  thing  about  Kentucky  politics  is  the  fact  that  there  it  is 
a  continuous  campaign.  Telegraph  poles,  fence  posts,  and  trees  are 
seldom  free  of  political  posters.  It  is  not  at  all  unusual  to  see  cam- 
paign workers  pulling  the  tacks  out  of  old  posters  and  using  them  in 
nailing  up  new  ones.  If  politics  ceased  to  be  practical,  Kentuckians 
would  lose  an  excellent  excuse  for  having  community  picnics,  fried 
chicken  dinners,  and  fish  fries.  Even  the  famed  Kentucky  burgoo 
would  lose  much  of  its  flavor.  Perhaps  few  indoor  pastimes  yield  such 
keen  enjoyment  as  predicting  the  future  turn  of  political  affairs. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  its  white  population,  like  that  of  most 
Southern  States,  is  "Nordic,"  Kentucky's  course  in  the  Civil  War  was 
unlike  that  of  the  South  in  general.  The  State  persisted  in  remaining 
neutral,  while  at  the  same  time  it  contributed  many  soldiers  to  both  the 
Northern  and  the  Southern  armies.  When  the  war  ended,  Kentucky 
was  left  in  a  sharply  divided  state  of  mind.  Where  other  Southern 
States  were  unanimously  Democratic,  Kentucky's  voters  were  divided 
between  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties.  This  division  still 
prevails  in  varying  degree,  and  at  times  lends  an  interesting  complexion 
to  State  politics. 

In  matters  of  culture  Kentucky  has  been  forced,  with  other  Southern 
States,  to  change  its  course  completely.  It  was  slow  to  adopt  the  idea 
of  public  education,  and  it  was  not  until  after  the  Civil  War  that  the 
idea  of  common  schools  became  thoroughly  entrenched  in  the  Kentucky 
mind.  There  was  no  real  antagonism  to  this  idea  before  the  war,  but  a 
convincing  precedent  was  lacking.  When  pioneer  parents  were  rearing 
large  families  on  the  frontier,  they  accepted  the  idea  that  their  family 
was  solely  their  own  responsibility,  and  that,  if  it  was  educated,  they 
had  to  pay  the  bill  individually.  Even  yet  there  is  opposition  to  public 
schools  on  this  ground.  However,  Kentucky  has  progressed  to  the 


6  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

point  of  accepting  common  schools  as  a  necessity.  Not  only  has  the 
public  school  experienced  its  most  progressive  years  since  the  war,  but 
so,  likewise,  have  institutions  of  higher  learning.  The  University  of 
Kentucky  is  a  post-war  institution,  and  so  are  teachers'  colleges.  Dur- 
ing the  past  three  decades  the  number  of  illiterates  has  been  greatly 
reduced.  Where  communities  were  once  denied  the  privilege  of  public 
education,  they  now  have  fairly  well-equipped  schools. 

Where  public  schools  have  made  rapid  strides,  other  cultural  agencies 
have  thrived.  Towns  and  villages  are  establishing  libraries  and  are 
making  available,  through  local  and  State  agencies,  literature  which 
heretofore  had  been  denied  to  isolated  readers.  There  are  several  insti- 
tutions engaged  in  collecting  and  preserving  historical  materials  and 
Kentuckiana.  These  agencies  are  beginning  to  make  up  for  the  losses 
which  Kentucky  has  experienced  in  the  past.  Never  before  have  Ken- 
tuckians  been  so  conscious  of  the  cultural  possibilities  of  their  State. 

Kentuckians  have  never  neglected  the  pleasures  of  life.  From  the 
time  when  his  forebears  hunted  through  the  woods  by  day  and  danced 
about  the  campfire  at  night,  the  Kentuckian  has  been  a  sporting, 
pleasure-loving  individual.  Following  the  Civil  War,  travelers  through 
the  State  remarked  that  the  trains  were  forever  crowded  with  light- 
hearted  passengers  either  going  to,  or  coming  from,  a  dance.  Racing, 
baseball,  and  football  have  enjoyed  considerable  prestige.  Horse  racing 
is  accepted  as  a  matter  of  fact.  When  natives  of  other  States  see  Ken- 
tuckians poring  over  racing  forms  on  Saturday  and  crowding  into 
churches  on  Sunday,  it  is  hard  for  them  to  understand  the  apparent 
incongruity.  Yet  it  is  this  devotion  to  both  piety  and  pleasure  which 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  people  of 
modern  Kentucky. 


NATURAL  SETTING 


KENTUCKY,  lying  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Alleghenies,  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio  River, 
on  the  northeast  and  southeast  by  West  Virginia  and  Virginia,  on  the 
south  by  Tennessee,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Mississippi  River.  Its 
greatest  length,  east  to  west,  is  425  miles;  its  greatest  breadth  182 
miles.  The  total  area  is  40,598  square  miles,  including  417  miles  of 
water  surface. 

"A  peculiar  situation  exists  at  the  extreme  southwest  corner,"  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey  Bulletin  817  states,  "where,  owing  to  a  double 
bend  in  the  Mississippi  River,  there  is  an  area  of  about  10  square  miles 
belonging  to  Kentucky  that  cannot  be  reached  from  the  rest  of  the 
State  without  passing  through  a  part  of  Missouri  or  Tennessee." 

The  State's  topographic  variations  are  mainly  the  result  of  slow  or 
rapid  erosion,  according  to  the  degree  of  resistance  encountered  in  par- 
ticular rock  strata.  The  mountains  in  the  sandstone  region,  the  occa- 
sional deep  gorges  or  underground  drainage  systems  in  the  limestone 
area,  and  the  swamp  flats  and  oxbow  lagoons  in  the  far  western  part 
of  the  State,  indicate  the  force,  extent,  and  direction  of  erosive  proc- 
esses. Reelfoot  Lake,  in  the  far  southwest,  resulted  from  the  earth- 
quake of  1811-12.  It  is  the  only  lake  of  importance  in  Kentucky, 
although  the  edge  of  the  Highland  Rim  Plateau  in  the  southwest  is 
pocked  with  numerous  small  bodies  of  still  water.  These  are  sinkholes 
which  have  choked  with  vegetable  matter  and  retained  the  water  that 
drained  into  them. 

The  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  flow  west  and  south,  and  form  the 
State's  main  drainage  channel.  The  Cumberland  River,  except  for  a 
small  portion  in  the  south-central  region,  the  Big  Sandy,  the  Licking, 
the  Kentucky,  the  Green,  the  Tradewater,  and  the  Tennessee  Rivers 
follow  the  general  northwest  slope  of  the  Allegheny  Plateau.  About 
3,000  miles  of  river  course  are  navigable. 

Kentucky  has  six  natural  physiographic  regions:   (1)  Mountain,  (2) 

7 


8  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Knobs,  (3)  Bluegrass,  (4)  Pennyrile,  (5)  Western  Coal  Field,  and  (6) 
Purchase. 

The  Mountain  region,  containing  10,450  square  miles,  is  the  remains 
of  a  great  westerly  sloping  plateau  which  has  been  cut  by  streams  into 
a  region  of  narrow  valleys  lying  between  sharp  ridges.  The  Cumber- 
land and  Pine  Mountain  ranges,  near  the  southeastern  border,  are 
"erosion"  mountains  carved  from  the  upturned  edges  of  hard  sand- 
stone. Between  them  lies  the  Middlesboro  Basin,  in  which  are  the 
State's  highest  mountains.  Here  are  the  Cumberland  and  Pine  Moun- 
tain ranges,  with  the  Little  and  Big  Black  Mountain  ranges  between. 
The  highest  point  in  the  State  is  at  Big  Black  Mountain,  4,150  feet 
above  sea  level,  in  Harlan  County  on  the  southeastern  boundary  line. 
To  the  west  and  northwest  the  mountain  crests  gradually  lower  until 
they  merge  with  the  uplands  of  the  Bluegrass  and  the  Pennyrile;  the 
elevation  drops  from  about  2,000  feet  in  the  southeast  to  less  than  800 
feet  along  the  western  rim.  The  lowest  point  in  the  State  is  257  feet 
above  sea  level,  near  Hickman  in  Fulton  County,  at  the  extreme  south- 
west. 

The  larger  streams  in  the  Mountain  region  have  some  wide  flood 
plains  with  alluvial  and  rock  terraces.  Wind  gaps,  such  as  Cumberland 
Gap,  and  the  water  gaps,  like  the  Breaks  of  Sandy,  are  of  frequent 
occurrence.  The  surface  rocks  are  sandstones  and  shales,  with  practi- 
cally no  limestones.  The  valley  soils  are  deep  and  yield  excellent  crops. 
Soils  on  the  ridges  are  thin  and  easily  washed  away  during  cultivation. 

The  Knobs  region  is  bounded  on  the  inner  side  by  the  rolling  Blue- 
grass  downs,  and  on  the  outer  by  the  escarpments  at  the  edge  of  the 
mountain  region  in  the  east,  and  of  the  Pennyrile  in  the  west.  It  has 
the  appearance  of  an  irregular  plain  out  of  which  rise  many  erosive 
remnants  of  the  Mountain  and  Pennyrile  plateaus.  The  knoblike 
shapes  frequently  seen  in  these  remnants  have  suggested  the  name  of 
the  region.  The  escarpments,  also  considered  part  of  the  Knobs,  rise 
from  200  to  500  feet  above  the  drainage  and  cover  an  area  of  about 
2,200  square  miles.  The  Kentucky  and  the  Ohio  Rivers  are  the  only 
navigable  streams  here.  The  soils,  composed  largely  of  weathered 
shales,  erode  rapidly  when  cultivated,  and  for  this  reason  large  areas 
remain  wooded.  While  not  rich,  they  will  yield  good  crops  under 
proper  cultivation.  The  larger  part  of  the  Cumberland  National  Forest 
lies  in  the  eastern  Knobs. 

Within  the  encircling  arms  of  the  Knobs  on  one  side,  and  the  Ohio 
River  on  the  other,  lies  the  Bluegrass  region,  about  8,000  square  miles 


io  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

in  extent.  It  is  a  gently  rolling  upland,  from  800  to  1,000  feet  above 
sea  level.  Almost  everywhere  it  is  cleared  of  its  original  forests  and  is 
either  cultivated  or  in  pasturage.  A  few  open,  grass-swarded  wood- 
lands remain,  especially  around  the  more  pretentious  manors ;  and  there 
are  uncleared  glens  and  dells  where  the  smaller  streams  fall  rapidly 
from  the  high  downs  to  the  main  streams. 

This  region  is  divided  into  three  sections,  differentiated  by  their  un- 
derlying Ordovician  limestone :  the  inner  Bluegrass,  the  Eden  shale  belt, 
and  the  outer  Bluegrass.  The  first,  about  2,400  square  miles,  has  the 
richest  soils  due  to  the  underlying  limestones  with  their  high  phosphate 
content.  Its  surface  is  very  gently  rolling.  The  second,  about  2,500 
square  miles,  lies  as  a  broad  belt  around  the  inner  Bluegrass,  and  is 
underlain  by  limestone  not  so  rich  in  phosphorus,  and  with  a  large 
shale  and  silica  content.  Its  soils,  while  good,  are  easily  eroded,  pro- 
ducing steep  slopes  and  V-shaped  valleys.  The  third  is  like  the  first, 
but  the  soils  on  the  whole  are  not  quite  so  rich. 

The  large  area  lying  at  the  southern  end  of  the  central  plain,  of  which 
the  Bluegrass  region  is  the  northern  section,  is  known  as  the  Pennyrile. 
Pennyrile  takes  its  name  from  the  local  pronunciation  of  Pennyroyal, 
an  annual  plant  of  the  mint  family,  which  grows  luxuriantly  in  this 
region.  It  comprises  about  7,800  square  miles,  and  is  separated  from 
the  valleys  of  the  western  Knob  and  southern  Mountain  regions  by  an 
escarpment  which,  in  the  Knob  area,  is  called  Muldraugh's  Hill.  The 
eastern  portions  of  the  region  rise  600  and  700  feet  above  sea  level,  but 
they  drop  gradually  on  the  west  to  about  400  or  500  feet,  as  they  ap- 
proach the  Purchase  in  the  southwest  and  the  western  coal  fields  along 
the  Ohio.  The  streams  cut  broad  valleys  except  in  the  karst  or  sink- 
hole areas,  where  only  the  larger  streams  flow  on  the  surface. 

The  scenery  of  the  Pennyrile  is  varied  from  gently  rolling  farm  lands 
to  cliffs  and  scarps,  and  from  open  fields  to  forested  rocky  hillsides. 
The  sinkhole  part  of  the  region  was  originally  known  as  the  Barrens, 
because  the  first  settlers  found  it  almost  completely  lacking  in  trees  and 
were  unable  to  discover  water  for  themselves  and  their  stock.  The  lack 
of  trees  was  the  result  of  continual  forest  burnings  by  the  Indians  to 
make  grasslands  upon  which  the  buffalo  might  feed,  and  the  water 
scarcity  was  caused  by  underground  drainage.  Neither  condition  re- 
sulted from  any  barrenness  of  soil.  After  white  men  gained  control  of 
the  region,  it  was  reforested. 

Waters,  either  surface  or  underground,  are  abundant.  In  the  under- 
ground drainage  courses  are  thousands  of  miles  of  subterranean  pas- 


NATURAL    SETTING  II 

sages  including  Mammoth  Cave.  The  soils  are  principally  residual, 
varying  from  sandy  and  silt  loams  in  the  east  to  the  limey,  phosphorous 
soils  in  the  west.  Frequent  coatings  of  loess  or  windblown  deposits  are 
found  on  the  uplands,  and  alluvial  clays  or  gravels  along  the  Tennessee 
and  Cumberland  Rivers. 

The  Western  Coal  Field,  an  area  of  about  4,680  square  miles,  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Ohio  River  and  elsewhere  by  the  Penny- 
rile.  The  region  is  characterized  by  sandstone  and  wooded  ridges,  rock 
shelters,  and  cliffs.  However,  the  proportion  of  level  lands  is  so  much 
greater  that  the  Western  Coal  Field  in  some  places  resembles  the  prairie 
States.  Some  valuable  timber  remains  and  there  are  large  areas  in 
which  second  growth  timbers  are  flourishing.  On  the  uplands  the  soil 
is  a  yellow  silt  loam,  thin  where  hilly,  but  deeper  elsewhere.  Trans- 
ported soils  cover  the  bottom  lands. 

The  Purchase  (2,569  square  miles),  so  named  from  the  fact  that  it 
was  bought  from  the  Chickasaw  Indians,  is  bounded  by  the  Tennessee, 
Ohio,  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  and  the  Tennessee  State  Line.  The  gen- 
eral topographic  relief  is  the  lowest  in  the  State.  Gently  rolling  up- 
lands and  wide  flood  plains  are  the  rule  along  the  larger  streams. 
Stream  bluffs,  cypress  swamps,  oxbow  lagoons,  and  an  occasional  deep 
erosive  gully  are  common  sights.  The  soft  rocks  of  the  region  erode 
rapidly.  Transported  soils  cover  the  Purchase  except  in  a  narrow  strip, 
just  west  of  the  Tennessee  River,  where  residual  soils  are  found. 
Yellow-brown  silt  loam  is  prevalent. 

The  average  annual  rainfall  in  Kentucky  is  about  45  inches,  which 
places  the  State  within  the  humid  belt — so  important  for  agriculture 
and  manufacturing.  The  climatic  changes  from  north  to  south  account 
for  a  difference  of  approximately  one  week  in  the  growing  seasons.  Pe- 
riods of  excessive  rainfall  or  drought  are  rarely  great  enough  to  effect 
serious  damage  to  crops. 

The  climate  of  the  whole  State  is  temperate  and  healthful.  The 
mean  annual  temperature  is  around  60°  F.  In  the  summer  months  it 
ranges  from  75°  F.  in  eastern  Kentucky  to  78°  F.  in  the  west;  and  in 
the  winter  around  36°  F.  in  all  sections.  Temperatures  of  100°  F.  are 
very  rare,  but  marks  of  80°  F.  and  above  have  occurred  even  in  mid- 
winter. Below-zero  temperatures  occur  with  moderate  frequency  in 
December,  January,  and  February,  and  —28°  F.  has  been  experienced 
twice  in  the  eastern  half  during  the  past  60  years. 

The  last  killing  frosts  generally  occur  from  April  15  to  23  and  the 
first  from  October  13  to  21.  The  growing  season  is  from  174  to  189 


12  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

days.  In  the  eastern  part  of  Kentucky  the  average  number  of  rainy 
days  is  about  118  a  year — 5  to  9  in  each  of  the  fall  months  from  Sep- 
tember to  November,  inclusive,  and  10  to  13  for  each  of  the  other 
months.  The  average  number  of  rainy  days  in  the  west  is  about  104, 
of  which  the  months  from  September  to  November  inclusive  have  5 
to  8,  and  the  other  months  from  8  to  12. 

Prevailing  winds  are  from  the  south  and  southwest,  with  north  and 
northwest  winds  frequent  in  winter.  Seven  to  ten  miles  is  the  average 
hourly  wind  velocity. 


Animal  Life 


The  animal  life  of  Kentucky  is  representative  of  areas  as  far  apart 
as  the  marshes  of  Louisiana  and  the  forests  of  New  England  and 
southern  Canada. 

Two  large  groups  of  fauna  that  once  were  common  to  the  State  have 
now  disappeared:  prehistoric,  or  Pleistocene  mammals,  skeletons  of 
which  have  been  found  in  various  parts  of  the  State  but  chiefly  at  Big 
Bone  Lick  in  Boone  County;  and  species  that  were  killed  off  or  driven 
away  in  the  course  of  the  settlement  of  the  State.  In  the  first  class 
were  mastodons,  mammoths,  giant  wolves,  beaver,  elk,  and  moose. 
Early  travelers  and  explorers  were  greatly  impressed  by  the  giant  bones, 
and  often  wrote  extravagant  stories  about  them.  Even  more  interest 
attaches  to  the  animals  that  were  almost  fabulously  plentiful  when  the 
settlers  came.  The  bison,  or  buffalo,  grazed  the  central  plains  of  the 
Barrens  and  Bluegrass  in  numbers  comparable  with  those  of  the  Great 
Plains  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  thought  that  this  species  disap- 
peared from  the  State  about  1820,  soon  after  the  settlement  of  the 
Jackson  Purchase.  The  beaver  was  less  abundant  here  than  farther 
north,  but  it  survived  in  small  numbers  until  a  generation  ago.  Hair- 
raising  stories  are  still  told  about  the  panther  or  puma  (locally  called 
"painter"),  once  fairly  common  but  now  extinct  in  the  State. 

The  wild  turkey,  still  found  in  small  numbers  in  remote  places,  par- 
ticularly in  the  eastern  mountains  and  other  wooded  sections,  may  be 
re-established  in  the  State  and  National  parks  and  the  larger  forests 
under  proper  protection.  The  area  considered  most  suitable  for  this 


NATURAL    SETTING  13 

purpose  in  western  Kentucky  is  the  Coalings,  a  wild,  wooded  tract  be- 
tween the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  Rivers,  now  taken  over  by  the 
Federal  Government. 

Stories  told  about  the  passenger  pigeon  a  hundred  and  more  years 
ago  sound  impossible  today  although  "pigeon  roost"  is  found  in  place 
names  in  practically  every  part  of  the  State.  Alexander  Wilson,  in  the 
Shelby ville  area,  estimated  in  1810  that  he  saw  millions  of  birds  in  one 
day.  Audubon,  in  1813,  on  his  way  to  Louisville  from  Hardinsburg, 
counted  163  flocks  in  23  minutes.  Enormous  areas  in  the  various  parts 
of  the  State  were  used  by  this  species  for  nesting  places.  Wilson  de- 
scribed one  on  the  upper  part  of  Green  River,  above  the  site  of  Greens- 
burg;  Audubon  pictured  another  near  the  mouth  of  Green  River  not 
far  from  Henderson. 

Another  species,  long  a  mark  for  hunters  and  therefore  almost  de- 
stroyed, was  the  Carolina  Louisiana  parrakeet,  which  the  Audubon 
societies  are  protecting  in  the  Everglades  of  Florida.  In  earlier  days 
this  beautiful  little  parrot  was  found  in  abundance  around  sycamore 
groves,  salt  licks,  and  fields  of  cockleburs.  The  ruffed  grouse,  hunted 
intensively  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  settlement,  still  exists  in 
small  numbers.  The  prairie  chicken,  once  found  in  many  sections,  dis- 
appeared after  the  Barrens  and  the  Jackson  Purchase  were  opened  to 
settlement. 

While  game  birds  like  the  prairie  chicken  and  the  wild  turkey  soon 
became  scarce  around  the  settlements,  most  of  the  songbirds  have  in- 
creased enormously.  In  earlier  days  ravens  also  were  common;  now 
only  the  wildest  areas  of  the  mountains  harbor  them.  The  chimney 
swift  and  the  nighthawk,  on  the  other  hand,  have  greatly  profited  by 
the  coming  of  civilization.  The  swift,  formerly  nesting  in  hollow  trees, 
has  thoroughly  adapted  itself  to  chimneys,  and  the  Kentucky  Ornitho- 
logical Society  has  no  record  of  any  nesting  in  trees  within  the  memory 
of  the  present  generation. 

Almost  300  species  of  birds  have  been  observed  in  Kentucky,  most 
of  them  in  land  habitations.  The  great  marsh  country  on  the  Ken- 
tucky-Tennessee border,  north  of  Reelfoot  Lake,  is  the  breeding  ground 
of  American  egrets,  great  blue  herons,  snakebirds,  double-crested  cor- 
morants, and  other  waterfowl.  Huge  flocks  of  waterfowl  pass  over 
the  State  in  their  migrations,  and  can  sometimes  be  seen  on  streams 
and  ponds.  On  a  "wet-weather  lake"  near  Bowling  Green,  observers 
have  counted  36  species  of  waterfowl. 

Of  the  150  to  175  species  of  birds  found  in  Kentucky  in  an  average 


14  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

year,  about  IS  are  winter  residents,  including  the  white-throated  and 
white-crowned  sparrows,  the  slate-colored  junco,  the  golden-crowned 
kinglet,  and  the  yellow-bellied  sapsucker.  Numbered  among  the  sum- 
mer residents  are  the  catbird,  brown  thrasher,  bronzed  grackle,  crested 
flycatcher,  Bachman  and  grasshopper  sparrows,  and  Kentucky  and 
yellow  warblers.  The  shy  warblers  are  represented  by  more  than  a 
dozen  types  that  spend  the  summer  here.  The  mockingbird,  bluebird, 
cardinal,  bluejay,  Carolina  chickadee,  tufted  titmouse,  and  towhee  are 
among  the  35  to  40  well  known  species  that  remain  throughout  the 
year. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey  states  that  "ob- 
servers in  the  Mississippi  Valley  probably  witness  the  passage  of  greater 
numbers  of  varieties  of  birds  than  can  be  observed  in  any  other  river 
valley  of  the  world."  The  area  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  River 
is  part  of  the  great  wintering  grounds  of  the  waterfowl;  the  Ohio 
River  from  Louisville  up  as  far  as  Catlettsburg  is  another  concentration 
area.  Ornithologists  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  at  Louisville,  have  re- 
corded in  recent  years  nearly  all  the  species  of  waterfowl  that  visit  the 
State.  The  migration  routes  follow  the  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  Tennes- 
see Rivers;  land  birds,  particularly  the  warblers,  have  another  great 
route  through  central  Kentucky,  a  little  to  the  east  of  Mammoth  Cave, 
along  what  the  geologists  call  the  Dripping  Springs  Escarpment. 

Small  mammals  exist  in  surprisingly  large  numbers,  especially  in  the 
rocky  areas.  Red  and  gray  foxes,  minks,  muskrats,  raccoons,  opossums, 
red  and  gray  squirrels,  cottontail  rabbits,  marsh  rabbits  (in  the  Pur- 
chase), and  hosts  of  smaller  species  are  found  nearly  everywhere.  In 
the  Jackson  Purchase  the  large  marsh  rabbit  and  an  occasional  otter 
are  still  seen  and  in  central  Kentucky  the  woodchuck  is  common.  The 
caves  are  thickly  populated  with  bats  and  many  kinds  of  rodents. 

Over  a  hundred  species  of  fish  have  been  found  in  Kentucky.  Of 
the  game  fishes,  the  one  most  closely  identified  with  Kentucky  (par- 
ticularly the  Barren  and  Green  River  section)  is  the  muskallonge,  known 
locally  as  jackfish  or  jack  salmon.  Three  of  the  bass  group,  the  large- 
and  small-mouth  and  the  Kentucky,  are  found  throughout  the  State. 
Many  other  fishes  are  widely  distributed:  the  crappie,  bluegill,  rock 
bass,  drumfish  or  white  perch,  red  horse,  white  sucker,  and  buffalo. 
Two  kinds  of  catfish — channel  and  blue — are  often  taken;  some  are 
very  large  specimens.  Among  the  species  of  interest  principally  to 
ichthyologists  are  the  eel,  the  spoonbill,  the  sturgeon,  minnows  of  many 


I.  THE  NATURAL  SETTING 


BREAKS  OF  SANDY 


•is 


CUMBERLAND  FALLS 


CUMBERLAND  GAP 


KNOB  COUNTRY 


KENTUCKY  RIVER  PALISADES 


SKYLINE  NATURAL  BRIDGE,  CUMBERLAND  NATIONAL  FORES1 


LOOKING  UP  THE  OHIO  TOWARD  CLOVERPORT 


THE  KENTUCKY  RIVER  AT  CAMP  NELSOIs 


iii 


ECHO  RIVER  IN  MAMMOTH  CAVE 


GOTHIC  AVENUE  IN  MAMMOTH  CAVE 


RUINS  OF  KARNAK  IN  MAMMOTH  CAVE 


CHIMNEY  ROCK,  NEAR  DANVILLE 


NATURAL   SETTING  15 

species,  darters,  and  the  several  blind  and  semi-blind  species  of  cave 
fish. 

The  efforts  of  the  State  game  and  fish  commission  to  safeguard  and 
restore  wild  life  resources  have  met  with  much  success.  Stationed 
everywhere  are  vigilant  wardens,  who  not  only  protect  game,  but  also 
educate  the  people  in  the  proper  uses  of  woodland  and  streams. 

The  State  has  introduced  deer,  quail,  and  fish  wherever  conditions 
seem  favorable,  and  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Fisheries  maintains  a  sta- 
tion and  breeding  pond  at  Louisville,  from  which  thousands  of  fish 
are  distributed  annually  throughout  the  State.  In  eastern  Kentucky 
the  State  has  12  game  refuges  where  deer,  bear,  fur  bearers,  turkey, 
ruffed  grouse,  and  quail  are  propagated;  and  two  fish  hatcheries  where 
the  species  best  adapted  for  the  region  are  produced.  In  central  Ken- 
tucky are  22  game  refuges  for  upland  game  birds,  pheasants,  and  fur- 
bearing  animals,  and  one  fish  hatchery  for  black  bass.  The  bass 
hatchery  at  Herrington  Lake  was  one  of  the  first  to  produce  black  bass 
under  artificial  conditions.  In  the  near-famine  years  fish  are  seined 
from  the  overflowed  lands  in  the  Purchase  and  distributed  where 
needed. 

Amphibians,  numerous  and  widely  distributed,  include  the  congo 
snake  or  blind  eel  (Amphiuma  means),  several  species  of  waterdogs 
and  salamanders,  including  the  wicked-looking  hellbender;  bullfrogs, 
green  frogs,  leopard  frogs,  many  varieties  of  tree  frogs,  and  two  species 
of  toads.  Common  turtles  are  numerous,  as  are  the  alligator,  snapping, 
soft-shelled,  pond,  and  land  varieties,  and  the  well-known  box  or 
Carolina  terrapin.  Only  four  poisonous  species  of  snake  have  been 
recorded:  the  timber  rattler,  copperhead,  cottonmouth,  and  coral.  Of 
these,  the  first  two  are  widely  distributed;  the  cottonmouth  is  appar- 
ently confined  to  the  Purchase,  and  the  coral,  a  southern  species,  is 
found  only  along  the  Tennessee  border.  Nonpoisonous  snakes  are 
much  more  plentiful.  The  blacksnake  and  its  near  relatives,  the  pine, 
the  bull,  and  the  chicken  snake  abound,  and  this  is  true  also  of  the 
king  snake  and  several  species  of  water  snakes.  The  brown  or  fence 
lizard,  like  the  six  line  lizard  or  scorpion,  is  known  everywhere.  Less 
known  are  the  several  varieties  of  skinks  and  the  fabulous  glass  or 
joint  snake,  which  can  shed  its  tail  when  attacked.  All  the  lizards  are 
useful  and  harmless.  Several  species  of  crawfish,  clams,  and  snails 
are  known  to  most  fishermen  and  hunters. 


16  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 


Plant  Life 


Kentucky  flora  ranges  from  sub-boreal  in  the  Eastern  Mountains  to 
semi-tropical  in  the  Mississippi  River  bottoms'.  Each  of  the  State's  six 
topographic  and  geologic  regions  has  its  peculiar  type  of  flora;  and  in 
each  of  these  regions  are  minor  floral  divisions,  resulting  from  varia- 
tions in  elevation,  moisture,  soils,  exposure,  and  the  work  of  man. 

The  most  varied  plant  life  occurs  in  the  Eastern  Mountains,  where 
clearing  and  cultivation  have  not  disturbed  the  native  flora.  Here  are 
found  the  large-leafed  rhododendron,  azalea,  blueberry,  huckleberry, 
ferns  in  great  profusion,  and  the  magnolia.  Throughout  the  highland 
region  the  rhododendron  is  at  its  loveliest  in  June;  and  in  this  month, 
over  all  the  rockier  parts  of  the  mountains,  the  mountain  laurel  or 
calico-bush  is  in  bloom.  Perhaps  the  loveliest  flower  in  the  mountains 
is  the  great  laurel,  or  mountain  rosebay  (Rhododendron  catawbaiense) , 
which  covers  hill  and  cliff  with  bell-shaped,  rose-purple  flowers,  seen  in 
full  bloom  only  in  the  protected  ravines  of  the  Pine  Mountains. 

Four  species  of  magnolia — the  great-leafed,  the  small-leafed  cucum- 
ber tree,  the  ear-leafed,  and  the  umbrella  tree — bloom  in  late  May  or 
early  June.  The  waxy  gloss  of  their  leaves  and  their  huge,  but  delicate, 
pure  white,  sweet-scented  blossoms  give  them  a  tropical  appearance. 
Again  in  the  fall  they  catch  the  eye  with  their  crimson  seed  cones. 

An  aberrant  member  of  the  magnolia  family,  the  tulip  tree,  called 
yellow  poplar  in  Kentucky,  grows  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  In  May 
and  June  it  produces  dainty  chalices  of  green,  tinted  with  orange. 
Because  of  its  value  for  lumber,  the  supply  of  larger  specimens  has 
been  depleted. 

In  May  and  June  the  mountains  bloom  with  trillium,  bloodroot, 
bluebell,  wildginger,  dogtooth  violet,  sour-wood,  firepink,  mosspink, 
groundpink,  violet,  bluet,  dogwood,  crab  apple,  dwarf-iris,  yellow  and 
pink  lady-slipper,  and  dozens  of  other  species.  From  early  summer 
to  the  first  frosts,  the  long  growing  season  brings  from  blossom  to 
maturity  the  wild  strawberry,  serviceberry,  haw,  wild  grape,  persim- 
mon, and  papaw.  Edible  nuts  for  winter  consumption  include  the 


i8  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

chestnut,  chinquapin  (both  rare  today),  beechnut,  hazelnut,  walnut, 
and  hickorynut. 

Visitors  to  the  Bluegrass  region  who  expect  to  find  the  color  of  its 
famous  grass  blue  in  the  summer  months  are  disappointed.  Only  in 
May  do  the  blue  anthers  of  its  blossoms  give  the  grass  a  distinctly 
steel-blue  tint.  It  grows  luxuriantly  in  the  limestone  phosphorus  soils 
of  the  Bluegrass  region  and  sporadically  in  the  limestone  soils  of  the 
Pennyrile  but  does  not  prosper  elsewhere.  In  its  chosen  habitat  blue- 
grass  is  unequaled  as  turf  and  for  pasturage,  but  it  is  rarely  cut  for 
hay.  On  many  farms  in  central  Kentucky  it  is  grazed  every  month  of 
the  year. 

Few  untouched  wild  spots  are  left  in  the  Bluegrass  region.  Park-like 
lawns  and  open,  grassy  woodland  patches  surround  the  farm  houses; 
but  along  steep  banks  and  in  the  deep  dells  much  of  the  original  flora 
of  the  region  survives.  Here,  in  spring,  are  hidden  the  purple  trillium, 
springbeauty,  dwarf-iris,  pink  catchfly,  bloodroot,  stonecrop,  columbine, 
and  ferns  of  every  sort.  Dogwood  and  redbud  spread  their  lacy,  tinted 
draperies  over  the  vernal  slopes.  Later  in  the  summer,  purple,  white, 
and  blue  asters  and  hosts  of  other  blossoms  cover  the  rocks  and  find 
foothold  in  every  pinch  of  soil  between  them.  In  the  fields  and  open 
places  goldenrod  vies  with  bridal-wreath  aster  in  the  autumn.  Along 
the  streams  the  artichoke,  a  sunflower  with  edible  roots,  and  the  golden- 
glow,  very  like  the  artichoke  in  size  and  color,  cover  the  bottom  lands 
and  banks  with  gold.  Tall  purple  composites,  the  ironweed  and 
meadow  beauty  (deer  grass),  grace  the  open  woodlands  or  low  meadows. 

In  the  Eden  shale  soils  of  the  Bluegrass  several  species  of  red-haw 
flourish;  these  are  white  with  blossoms  in  the  spring,  and  in  the  fall 
are  hung  with  the  red  berries  that  children  string  into  long  necklaces 
and  belts.  When  unmolested  the  red-haw  grows  from  ten  to  twenty 
feet  high,  but  cattle  browse  it  to  the  size  of  bushes,  a  fact  that  suggests 
their  usefulness  as  hedges. 

Old  fields  in  the  acid  soils  and  even  in  the  more  alkaline  soils  of  the 
Pennyrile  are  sometimes  covered  with  clumps  of  broomsedge,  a  grass- 
like  plant  that  grows  green  in  the  spring  and  brown  in  autumn.  When 
growing  thick,  it  looks  like  a  field  of  grain  and  is  eaten  sparingly  by 
the  livestock.  Farmers  consider  it  a  pest,  however,  and  often  burn 
over  patches  of  the  weed. 

Everywhere  are  the  climbing  vines — grapes,  wistaria,  trumpetvine, 
Virginia  creeper,  and  poison  ivy.  Poison  ivy,  which  smothers  fence 
posts  along  the  highways,  grows  rankly  wherever  it  finds  support.  Its 


NATURAL   SETTING  19 

three-fingered  compound  leaves,  greenish  flowers,  and  white  berries  are 
easily  identified,  especially  in  the  morning  when  the  plant  is  covered 
with  dew. 

Western  Kentucky  may  be  divided  into  two  broad  floral  grounds:  the 
upland  division,  represented  by  hill  or  knob  land;  and  the  lowland  or 
river  valley  division.  The  upland  flora,  although  more  widely  dis- 
tributed, is  less  luxuriant  than  that  of  the  lowland.  Extensive  ranges 
of  oak  forests  cover  many  of  the  knobs,  their  rich  green  foliage  making 
a  shady  habitat  for  herbaceous  plants.  Early  spring  bedecks  these 
forests  with  the  golden  yellow  buttercup,  the  toothwort,  springbeauty, 
and  the  delicate  rue  anemone.  The  birdsfoot  violet,  the  most  beautiful 
native  kind,  often  carpets  a  gravelly  knoll. 

Deep,  moist  ravines  are  canopied  by  sugar  maple  and  beech,  where 
the  rich  humus  yields  the  trim  wake-robin,  in  tones  of  brown  and 
green,  and  the  ever  popular  Indian  turnip  (Jack-in-the-pulpit).  The 
bloodroot,  bellwort,  Solomon 's-seal,  Greek  valerian,  waterleaf,  wild 
sweet  William,  butterfly  weed,  trout  lily,  numerous  violets,  and  other 
plants  furnish  a  continuous  sequence  of  blossom  in  the  spring.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  beauty  of  these  woods  is  at  the  flowering  time  of  the 
dogwood  and  redbud,  everywhere  abundant. 

In  summer  the  dryness  of  the  soil  in  this  area  reduces  the  number 
of  flowering  plants.  For  the  most  part,  plants  either  make  their  growth 
and  flower  in  the  spring,  or  wait  until  the  approach  of  autumn.  Then 
the  roadsides  are  bordered  with  goldenrod,  the  royal  purple  ironweed, 
and  the  sky-blue  wild  ageratum.  Entire  fields  are  covered  with  a  sea 
of  gold  as  the  yellow  tickseed  comes  into  flower.  Several  species  of 
asters  herald  the  approach  of  frost,  as  the  hills  are  transformed  almost 
overnight  into  masses  of  glowing  color. 

The  overflow  lands  of  the  lowland  area  support  a  tropical  luxuriance 
of  vegetation,  particularly  in  the  wooded  parts.  Trees  attain  a  larger 
growth  here  than  in  the  uplands.  Nearly  all  the  eastern  North  Ameri- 
can oaks  are  represented,  even  the  southern  willow  oak,  and  there  are, 
in  addition,  several  varieties  of  hickory  (including  the  pecan),  species 
of  ash,  besides  the  maple,  willow,  cottonwood,  sycamore,  sweetgum, 
blackgum,  and  many  others.  The  picturesque  river  birch,  with  its  thin, 
papery  bark  hanging  in  shreds,  stands  out  in  bold  contrast  to  the 
smooth  silver  maples  with  which  it  often  grows. 

Early  spring  flowers  are  not  abundant,  but  summer  and  fall  bring  a 
wealth  of  color  as  the  Indian  pinks,  the  milkweeds,  ruellia,  cardinal 
flower,  great  blue  lobelia,  spider  lily,  and  aster  and  goldenrod  come  into 


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22  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

prolific  flower.  Marshy  places  are  fringed  with  the  swamp  rose,  hal- 
berd-leafed hibiscus,  swamp  privet,  and  button  bush,  and  covered  with 
yellow  pond  lily  and  lotus.  The  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  lesser  rivers,  by 
their  meanderings,  have  formed  numerous  oxbow  lakes  that  furnish 
ideal  conditions  for  the  spread  of  the  bald  cypress.  These  beautiful 
trees,  with  their  "knees"  protruding  from  the  surface  of  the  water, 
often  cover  large  areas.  Festoons  of  catbird  grape  hang  from  the 
lower  branches  and  climb  over  the  smaller  shrubs,  extending  to  the 
water's  edge. 

Kentucky  lies  in  the  great  hardwood  forest  region  between  the  Alle- 
ghenies  and  the  western  prairies.  Before  white  settlement,  three-fourths 
of  the  State  was  covered  with  forests  unsurpassed  in  eastern  North 
America  for  the  size  of  individual  trees  and  the  density  of  the  cover. 
Giants  six,  eight,  and  ten  feet  in  diameter  were  not  uncommon.  The 
larger  varieties  were  yellow  poplar  (tulip  tree),  sycamore,  oak,  chest- 
nut, and  walnut.  It  is  told  that  some  of  the  hollow  sycamores  were 
so  large  that  families  were  known  to  have  camped  in  them  until  they 
could  build  cabins.  Today  not  over  one-fourth  of  the  State  can  be 
called  forested  and  very  little  of  this  is  primeval,  nearly  all  having 
been  cut  over  for  timber. 

Their  attractiveness  and  the  ease  of  settlement  upon  them  led  to  the 
early  clearing  of  limestone  lands  in  the  Bluegrass  region.  Today 
about  90  percent  of  these  lands  are  denuded.  The  western  limestone 
lands  of  the  Pennyrile  and  the  delta  lands  of  the  Purchase  are  about 
30  percent  forested.  The  most  densely  forested  areas,  amounting  to 
60  or  70  percent  of  the  area,  are  in  the  valleys  of  the  Big  Sandy,  Upper 
Licking,  Kentucky,  and  Cumberland  Rivers,  all  in  eastern  Kentucky. 
In  the  latter  area  the  timber  is  chiefly  composed  of  oak,  chestnut,  and 
yellow  poplar;  in  the  rest  of  the  State  it  runs  to  oak  and  hickory, 
except  along  the  lower  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  flood  plains,  where 
hardwoods  peculiar  to  river  bottoms  prevail. 

Kentucky's  forests  have  brought  their  owners  considerable  wealth, 
but  commercial  exploitation  was  practically  at  an  end  by  the  close  of 
the  last  century.  Today  the  State's  forests  are  still  producing  mod- 
erately, but  not  as  they  did  when  great  sawmills  stood  on  all  the 
larger  streams  and  logs  by  the  millions  floated  down  in  the  spring  and 
fall  freshets.  As  most  of  the  steeper  land  in  Kentucky  is  better  adapted 
to  the  production  of  trees  than  to  other  uses,  the  tendency  is  to  con- 
serve forest  stands  and  to  cut  the  timber  scientifically,  but  no  thorough 
State-wide  system  of  conservation  has  been  adopted.  Only  in  one  or 


24  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

two  small  areas  is  reforestation  being  attempted,  where  some  of  the 
private  landholding  companies  and  individual  owners  have  begun  to 
reforest  their  cut-over  lands.  The  establishment  of  the  Cumberland 
National  Park  in  eastern  Kentucky  offers  the  greatest  promise  of  forest 
conservation.  This  park  will  contain  over  a  million  acres,  of  which 
much  is  forested,  and  the  rest  already  is  being  replanted.  The  Federal 
example  points  to  the  necessity  for  a  State  forest  policy  that  will  in- 
crease timber  resources,  offer  a  measure  of  protection  against  the  too 
rapid  run-off  of  storm  water,  and  restore  the  natural  balance  in  wild 
life  which  reckless  exploitation  has  destroyed. 


Geology  and  Paleontology 


The  oldest  outcropping  rock  formations  in  Kentucky  are  of  the 
Mid-Ordovician  period,  an  early  division  of  the  Paleozoic  era,  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  years  ago  when  only  the  simplest  forms  of  marine 
life  existed.  Cambrian  rocks,  those  from  the  earliest  period  of  the 
Paleozoic,  are  exposed  nowhere  in  the  State,  but  from  a  deep  well 
drilled  at  Nicholasville  in  Jessamine  County  fossil  remains  of  trilobites, 
small  oval-shaped  marine  animals,  known  to  have  lived  in  the  Cam- 
brian, have  been  taken. 

The  Ordovician  period,  when  shell-forming  sea  animals  flourished, 
is  well  represented  in  both  surface  and  subsurface  formations.  In  the 
vast  ocean  covering  this  region  lived  sponges,  corals,  moss  animals, 
brachiopods,  sea  lilies,  chambered  shells  (cephalopods),  primitive  forms 
of  snails  (gastropods),  clams  (pelecyrods),  and  buglike  creatures,  the 
trilobites.  Tiny  gastropods,  Cyclora  minuta,  were  so  numerous  that 
their  fossil  remains  in  the  limestone  have  been  mined  as  phosphate 
rock.  The  lime  and  phosphorus  of  these  shell-forming  sea  creatures 
account  in  large  measure  for  the  fertility  of  Kentucky  soils,  especially 
of  the  Bluegrass  region,  with  which  the  Ordovician  deposits  are  prac- 
tically co-extensive.  The  limestone  and  shales  of  this  area  are  esti- 
mated to  be  half  a  billion  years  old. 

Through  the  massive  limestone  of  Central  Kentucky  the  Kentucky 
River  and  its  tributary,  the  Dix  River,  have  cut  deep  gorges.  Gently 


NATURAL    SETTING  25 

rolling  hills,  occasional  caverns,  sinkholes,  and  countless  springs  are 
phenomena  resulting  from  erosion  and  internal  water  drainage. 

At  the  beginning  of  Silurian  time — following  the  Ordovician  age  and 
lasting  a  relatively  brief  twenty-five  million  years — an  ancient  sea  in- 
vaded Kentucky  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  permitting  the  immigration 
of  southern  types  of  corals,  crinoids  (a  class  to  which  sea  lilies  be- 
long), and  simple  shellfish.  About  the  middle  of  that  age  the  waters 
of  the  North  Atlantic  invaded  the  area,  bringing  many  new  forms. 
In  this  complex  of  older  life  forms  and  newer  developing  ones  are 
found  chain  corals,  honeycomb  corals,  cup  corals,  and  organ-pipe  corals 
— all  named  for  peculiarities  of  shape,  crinoids  of  many  kinds,  and 
new  species  of  shellfish.  Trilobites  were  on  the  decline  and  disap- 
peared during  the  Pennsylvanian  period. 

The  limestones  of  the  Devonian,  the  next  period,  have  preserved 
about  the  same  number  of  genera  of  corals,  crinoids,  and  brachiopods 
as  are  found  in  the  Silurian.  Cephalopods,  with  chambered  shells,  and 
the  mosslike  and  branching  bryozoans  are  common.  During  this  age, 
which  is  marked  by  the  rise  of  fishes  and  the  appearance  of  am- 
phibians, there  were  sharks  in  Kentucky's  waters;  the  ostracoderm, 
a  great  fishlike  creature,  has  left  its  remains.  The  oldest  known  land 
flora  also  made  its  appearance  on  Devonian  lands. 

Considerably  more  than  a  fourth  of  Kentucky  is  underlaid  by  lime- 
stones, shales,  and  sandstones  of  the  Mississippian  system.  These 
formations  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  Carboniferous  period, 
which  was  to  last  somewhat  over  one  hundred  million  years  and  ex- 
hibit a  flora  of  primitive  scale  trees,  tree  ferns,  huge  mosses,  early 
forms  of  flowering  plants  and,  from  this  world  of  luxuriant  vegeta- 
tion, the  development  of  amphibians.  Among  the  new  creatures  was 
a  genus  called  Archimedes,  so  named  from  its  resemblance  to  the 
screw  of  Archimedes.  From  the  stem  of  this  living  screw,  lacy  cur- 
tains extended,  inhabited  by  thousands  of  microscopic  bryozoan  ani- 
mals. Fossils  of  the  decorative  Pentremites,  the  so-called  fossil  "hick- 
ory nut,"  are  found  in  abundance  in  some  of  the  limestones  in  the 
Pennyrile.  Fossil  sharks'  teeth  are  the  only  evidence  of  vertebrates 
of  the  period  in  Kentucky. 

The  limestones  of  the  Mississippian  period  are  responsible  for  the 
odd  feature  of  the  landscape  known  as  the  Land  of  Ten  Thousand 
Sinks,  with  its  extensive  subterranean  drainage.  From  the  evidence 
of  existing  river  channels,  cutting  deeply  through  Mississippian  strata 
and  subsequently  filled  with  sandstone  of  the  Pennsylvanian  period,  it 


26  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

may  be  deduced  that  the  Mississippian  period  witnessed  a  vast  uplift 
followed  by  a  subsidence  of  the  region. 

The  Pennsylvanian,  or  great  coal  age,  is  represented  in  the  surface 
formations  of  both  the  eastern  and  western  coal  fields  of  Kentucky. 
These  are  sandstones,  shales,  occasional  limestones,  and  numerous  coal 
seams.  The  lower  sandstone  outcrops  along  the  outer  edges  of  both 
areas  and  has  been  sculptured  by  erosion  into  natural  bridges,  rock 
castles,  and  water  falls.  Natural  Bridge  and  Cumberland  Falls  are 
notable  among  these.  The  Pennsylvanian  shales  in  places  bear  the 
imprint  of  the  abundant  plant  life  of  the  period.  The  shale  roofs  of 
some  of  the  coal  mines  are  decorated  with  fossil  tree  trunks,  showing 
bark  patterns  and  the  traces  of  leaves.  The  sandstones  also  exhibit 
the  Lepidodendrons,  Sigillaria,  and  other  coal-forming  trees,  a  flora 
that  vanished  with  the  end  of  the  Carboniferous  period  in  its  last 
stage,  the  Permian.  The  animal  fossils  of  the  Pennsylvanian  resem- 
bles those  of  the  Mississipian. 

The  close  of  the  Paleozoic  era,  an  eon  of  some  350  million  years, 
saw  the  rise  of  the  ancient  lofty  Appalachian  Mountains,  of  which  the 
ancestral  Pine  and  Cumberland  Mountains  formed  western  outposts. 

So  far  as  Kentucky  is  concerned,  there  is  a  hiatus  in  the  rock  rec- 
ord, extending  from  the  end  of  the  Paleozoic  to  the  last  period  of  the 
Mesozoic.  Triassic,  Jurassic,  and  Commanchean  rocks  do  not  occur, 
and  those  of  the  Cretaceous  period  show  no  marine  fossils.  Dinosaurs 
or  other  spectacular  creatures  of  this  age  of  reptiles  may  have  wan- 
dered into  the  area  during  this  time,  but  neither  fossil  remains  nor 
footprints  have  been  found. 

The  Tertiary  period,  which  introduced  the  age  of  mammals,  found 
the  Purchase  Region  of  coastal  plain  bordering  an  enlarged  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Cassias,  figs,  maples,  laurels,  oaks,  walnuts,  willows,  papaws, 
gums,  yews,  hickories,  and  other  contemporary  flora  thrived.  In 
these  forests  roamed  the  giant  ground  sloth,  giant  wolves,  and  other 
carnivora. 

The  Quaternary  includes  the  quite  recent  glacial  period,  traces  of 
which  (in  the  Illinoian  stage)  are  found  ten  to  twenty  miles  south  of 
the  Ohio,  from  the  Big  Sandy  to  the  Kentucky  Rivers.  Louisville,  in 
part,  and  other  cities  of  the  northern  border  are  built  on  a  glacial  Ohio 
River  outwash  of  sand  and  gravel.  Big  Bone  Lick  in  Boone  County 
is  named  from  the  leg  bones  of  mammoth  and  mastodon  that  mired 
down  at  this  place.  It  is  possible  that  cave  dwellers  lived  and  hunted 


NATURAL    SETTING  27 

at  the  edge  of  the  slowly  retreating  ice  cap.  In  any  event,  within  a 
few  thousand  years  man  made  his  appearance  in  the  forests  of  this 
region  and  the  modern  era  was  ushered  in. 

There  are  geological  and  paleontological  collections  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Kentucky  at  Lexington,  in  the  Louisville  Free  Public  Library, 
and  in  many  other  Kentucky  institutions  of  higher  learning. 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND 
INDIANS 


THE  MANY  mounds,  forts,  cave  shelters,  and  burial  fields  in  Ken- 
tucky show  that  the  prehistoric  population  must  have  been  fairly 
large  for  savages.  It  was  diverse  in  culture  and  probably  had  many 
separate  origins. 

Aboriginal  remains  are  found  in  every  county  in  the  State.  The 
eastern  mound  area  covers  the  heart  of  the  Bluegrass  region  and  ex- 
tends northeastward  to  the  Ohio  River.  This  fertile  and  well  watered 
land  was  heavily  timbered  in  prehistoric  times.  It  is  characterized 
archeologically  by  the  great  number  and  large  size  of  its  Indian  mounds, 
many  of  them  associated  with  village  sites,  and  by  other  structures 
which  have  been  called  forts.  The  popular  notion  that  the  mound 
builders  were  a  race  differing  from  the  American  Indians  has  no  facts 
to  support  it.  They  were  doubtless  the  ancestors  of  some  of  the  his- 
toric Indians. 

The  mounds  were  originally  of  various  shapes  and  sizes  but  have 
been  altered  through  weathering  and  the  changes  caused  by  agriculture. 
This  is  especially  true  of  mounds  which  were  not  high  and  stand  in 
cultivated  fields.  With  each  plowing  the  earth  has  been  removed  from 
the  top  and  spread  out  at  the  base  until  the  original  shape  has  been 
destroyed.  Often  the  surface  for  many  yards  around  is  strewn  with 
flints,  bones,  and  broken  pottery  upturned  by  plow  and  harrow. 

Some  of  these  mounds  were  constructed  centuries  ago;  others  are 
quite  recent.  Certain  tribes  of  modern  Indians  were  building  mounds 
when  the  first  whites  arrived.  Sometimes  intrusive  burials  indicate 
that  later  tribes  used  the  mounds  after  the  original  builders  had  dis- 
appeared. All  mounds  were  not  used  for  the  same  purpose — they  were 
erected  for  ceremonial  or  sacrificial  purposes,  or  for  the  burial  of  the 
dead;  and  some  perhaps  represent  nothing  more  than  the  dirt  roof  of 
a  lodge  or  the  gradual  accumulation  of  camp  refuse. 

The  remains  of  camp  and  village  sites,  usually  found  in  the  vicinity 
of  mounds,  are  often  extensive  and  show  long  occupancy.  The  fea- 
tures by  which  a  site  is  recognized  is  the  sporadic  occurrence  of  broken 

28 


II.  HISTORIC  PAGES 


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DANIEL  BOONE'S  ARRIVAL  WITH  NORTH  CAROLINIANS 
MURAL  IN  POST  OFFICE,  LEXINGTON 


LINCOLN  MEMORIAL,  NEAR  HODGENVILLE 


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PIONEER  MEMORIAL,   HARRODSBURG 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  MEMORIAI 


OLD   CAPITOL,   FRANKFORT 


THE  CAPITOL,  FRANKFORT 


OLD  FAYETTE  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  LEXINGTON 


INTERIOR  FEDERAL  HILL,      MY  OLD  KENTUCKY  HOME/     NEAR  BARDSTOWN 

FEDERAL  HILL,  "MY  OLD  KENTUCKY  HOME' 


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ASHLAND,  HOME  OF  HENRY  CLAY,  LEXINGTON 


JOHN  HUNT  MORGAN  HOME,  LEXINGTON 


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JEFFERSON  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  LOUISVILLE 


ARCHEOLOGY    AND    INDIANS  2Q 

bits  of  flint  artifacts,  potsherds,  or  bone  fragments  scattered  over  the 
surface.  The  midden  of  a  village  is  usually  one  foot  deep,  though  it 
may  attain  a  depth  of  several  feet. 

The  life  of  the  mound  builders  may  be  reconstructed,  to  some  extent, 
from  the  artifacts  found  in  the  mounds.  Agriculture  is  shown  in  the 
hoes;  fishing  in  the  fishhooks  and  fish  scales;  hunting  in  the  bones  of 
many  a  beast;  sports  in  the  almost  obliterated  race  tracks  and  play- 
grounds; child-like  vanities  in  the  personal  ornaments;  industry  in 
the  laboriously  fashioned  tools  and  in  the  carved  pipes  and  gorgets. 

The  rock  shelter  area  extends  throughout  the  knobs  and  eastern 
mountains  and  swings  south  and  west  of  the  Bluegrass  to  portions  of 
west  central  Kentucky  having  a  similar  topography.  In  this  area 
erosion  has  formed  many  vertical  cliffs  from  50  to  200  feet  high  in 
which  are  rock  shelters,  known  locally  as  rock  houses.  Numbers  of 
these  shelters  are  several  hundred  feet  long  and  from  30  to  60  feet 
high,  and  many  are  quite  dry.  Into  these,  primitive  man  carried  wood 
for  fire  and  animals  for  food.  Ashes  and  bones  have  accumulated  in 
layers  sometimes  10  feet  deep.  Each  layer  contains  a  record  of  con- 
temporary life  and  is  well  preserved,  for  no  water  has  entered  the 
shelters  and  the  dry  ashes  have  prevented  bacterial  action.  Bone, 
shell,  gourd  shards,  textiles  and  leather  have  been  found  in  excellent 
condition. 

Not  all  the  sites  are  of  the  same  age,  nor  do  all  have  the  same  amount 
of  accumulated  debris;  but  the  series  of  artifacts,  burial  customs,  and 
apparent  steps  in  the  development  of  culture  are  so  nearly  identical 
in  the  shelters  investigated  that  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  all 
have  a  similar  story  of  occupancy. 

The  western  Kentucky  rock  shelter  area  embraces  the  headwaters 
of  the  Green  River  and  extends  northward  to  the  Ohio  River.  The 
cliff  shelters  found  here  differ  from  those  in  the  cliff  dwelling  area. 
They  are  merely  overhanging  rock  strata  or  ledges  of  sandstone  or 
limestone,  offering  protection  over  a  relatively  small  space.  The  cliffs 
are  usually  not  more  than  30  feet  high,  and  the  actual  shelters,  while 
numerous,  are  individually  small — no  larger  than  would  meet  the  need 
of  a  single  family.  The  shelters  were  often  so  small  that  the  ashes  had 
to  be  periodically  swept  out,  and  their  accumulation  formed  a  talus  at 
the  foot  of  the  cliff  below,  which  grew  deeper  and  broader  as  occupancy 
continued.  Burials  of  men,  women,  and  children  were  often  made  in 
the  ashes  and  debris  swept  from  the  shelter.  There  is  no  known  evi- 
dence of  cremation.  Bone  and  shell  were  used  extensively;  a  few  slate 


30  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

pendants,  shell  and  bone  beads,  and  other  ornaments  have  been  found. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  sandstone  sites  is  the  hominy  hole 
used  for  grinding  corn.  At  every  site,  from  one  to^  five  or  six  of  these 
conical  holes  are  found  either  in  the  shelter  floors  or  in  large  sand- 
stone boulders.  A  hominy  hole  is  from  four  to  ten  inches  in  diameter 
at  the  top,  tapering  to  perhaps  three  inches  at  the  bottom  and  varying 
in  depth  from  one  to  three  feet.  Associated  with  the  hominy  hole  is 
a  bell-shaped  pestle,  lashed  to  a  staff  several  feet  long,  and  used  pointed 
end  downward,  with  which  the  corn  was  ground  by  percussion.  A 
number  of  pestles  were  left  in  these  hominy  holes  by  their  users.  Crude 
hoes,  the  hominy  holes,  and  pestles  suggest  a  horticultural  people. 
They  are  not  to  be  distinguished  from  the  rock  shelter  dwellers  of  the 
eastern  mountains,  and  their  cultural  connections  are  uncertain. 

The  cliff  dwellings  were  in  continuous  use  from  a  remote  period  until 
the  advent  of  white  men.  The  lowest  ash  beds  have  no  pottery  of  any 
kind,  no  flint  implements,  and  only  the  crudest  forms  of  hammer- 
stones;  large  broken  animal  bones,  mingled  with  mussel  shells,  nut 
hulls,  and  fish  scales,  form  a  considerable  portion  of  the  refuse.  Upper 
or  later  levels  show  gourd  shards,  grooved  axes,  and  very  crude  lime- 
stone hoes,  indicating  the  beginning  of  agriculture.  Woven  textiles  and 
moccasins  of  both  textiles  and  leather  have  also  been  found  in  the 
upper  layers.  Crude  potsherds  occur  only  in  the  top  six  inches  of  the 
ash,  and  a  few  sites  have  yielded  paddle-marked  shards.  The  cliff 
dwellers  used  shells  as  spoons  and  scrapers,  and  made  a  characteristic 
bone  awl  from  the  shoulder  blade  of  the  deer. 

Many  burials  of  women  and  children  occur  in  the  ash  beds,  but  such 
burials  did  not  prevent  later  occupancy  of  the  site.  Although  dozens 
of  ash  beds  have  been  investigated  and  scores  of  bodies  of  women  and 
children  have  been  found,  there  is  no  evidence  of  a  burial  of  an  adult 
male.  The  question  of  what  was  done  with  deceased  adult  males  may 
have  been  answered  by  the  discovery,  in  one  site  in  Wolfe  County,  of 
some  57  artifacts  associated  with  the  almost  entirely  burned  bones  of 
what  appears  to  have  been  an  adult  male.  These  bones  and  artifacts 
are  preserved,  just  as  found,  in  the  museum  of  the  University  of  Ken- 
tucky. Future  investigation  may  show  that  adult  males  were  cremated. 
In  the  southeastern  mountain  area  are  many  mounds,  but  they  are 
not  as  numerous  as  in  the  neighboring  central  mound  area.  Here,  too, 
are  rock  shelters  in  which  the  aboriginal  people  lived  and  left  artifacts. 
Plowed  fields  have  yielded  artifacts  of  flint  and  other  stones  and 
vestiges  of  villages  may  be  seen  in  a  few  places.  The  soil  was  capable 


ARCHEOLOGY    AND    INDIANS  31 

of  producing  maize  abundantly  but  the  roughness  of  the  country  doubt- 
less interfered  with  settlement. 

An  area  embracing  a  portion  of  north  central  Kentucky  includes 
evidence  of  aborigines  of  unknown  cultural  affinities.  This  occupation 
is  indicated  by  burial  sites  containing  stone  cists  of  two  to  six  burials, 
usually  situated  on  high  hill  crests.  The  graves  are  covered  with  a 
double  row  of  flat  stones  set  on  edge  and  touching  each  other  at  the 
top.  Other  stones  are  then  leaned  against  this  first  row,  and  some- 
times an  area  of  10  feet  square  is  covered  with  sloping  stones. 

Along  part  of  the  Ohio  River  in  Kentucky  are  a  few  larger  mounds 
associated  with  village  sites,  some  of  which  have  yielded  material  of 
Fort  Ancient  culture;  this  would  be  expected  from  its  contact  with  the 
Fort  Ancient  area  in  Ohio  and  with  the  eastern  mound  area  in  Ken- 
tucky, to  the  eastward.  The  Fort  Ancient  culture  is  probably  Siouan. 

Kentucky  caves  were  inhabited  by  prehistoric  man,  but  how  far  he 
dates  back  in  time  is,  at  present,  an  unanswerable  question.  The  term 
"cave  dwellers"  is  used  to  designate  those  ancient  people  whose  remains 
are  found  in  caves  and  who  apparently  lived  in  them.  Primitive  man 
could  hardly  have  found  a  more  satisfactory  type  of  shelter.  The  part 
of  the  cave  near  the  mouth  was  commonly  occupied,  and  caves  which 
had  good  rooms  close  to  the  entrance  were  favorite  dwelling  places. 
The  inhabitants  also  used  the  most  remote  passages,  for  in  the  deepest 
and  most  inaccessible  chambers  they  left  evidence  of  their  presence. 
The  caves,  like  the  mounds,  represent  more  than  one  group  of  people. 
After  one  group  deserted  them,  a  new  group  would  move  in. 

The  reason  for  burial  in  the  caves  may  have  been  religious  belief, 
or  long-established  custom,  or  a  desire  to  protect  the  graves,  or  merely 
the  fact  that  the  floor  of  the  cave  was  never  hard  or  frozen,  and  was 
easy  to  excavate  when  the  outside  ground  was  not.  Whatever  the 
reason,  its  existence  is  fortunate,  for  cave  burials  have  proven  con- 
ducive to  preservation  of  remains,  and  thus  they  give  illuminating 
glimpses  of  ancient  life. 

Ash  beds  are  found  on  the  floors  of  caves,  but  it  is  often  difficult 
to  tell  whether  they  were  made  by  ancient  residents  or  modern  hunters. 
On  the  walls  are  marks  and  decorations;  since  weathering  is  very  slow 
in  such  protected  places,  these  marks  may  be  ten  or  a  thousand  years 
old.  Hidden  in  crevices  are  pots  containing  paint  or  pigment,  but  little 
is  known  of  the  men  who  left  them  there. 

South  and  west  of  the  western  Kentucky  rock  shelter  area,  along 
Green  River  in  its  passage  through  McLean,  Muhlenberg,  Ohio,  and 


32  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Butler  Counties,  is  the  Shell  Mound  area.  It  is  distinguished  by  great 
shell  heaps  near  the  riverbanks,  consisting  of  gastropod  and  mussel 
shells  mixed  with  animal  bones  and  camp  refuse.  The  size  and  number 
of  these  mounds  suggest  a  large  population  or  a  long-continued  occupa- 
tion. The  shell  beds  are  often  ten  to  twelve  feet  deep,  and  many  of 
them  are  several  acres  in  extent.  The  most  important  archeological 
investigation  within  this  area  was  made  by  C.  B.  Moore  at  Indian 
Knoll,  where  many  skeletons  and  certain  characteristic  artifacts  were 
discovered.  The  circular  pattern  of  graves  at  this  site  is  unlike  that  in 
the  surrounding  territory.  The  artifacts  indicate  a  people  living 
wholly  by  fishing  and  hunting.  There  is  no  evidence  of  agriculture 
and,  beyond  the  mounds  themselves,  no  evidence  of  permanent  occupa- 
tion. It  is  possible  that  these  shell  mounds  are  evidences  of  the  oldest 
human  occupancy  in  this  area  of  the  State. 

The  stone  grave  area,  lying  between  the  Tennessee  and  Green  Rivers, 
is  very  rich  in  prehistoric  remains — earth  mounds,  large  village  sites, 
and  cemeteries.  Stone  grave  cemeteries  are  fairly  numerous,  and  some 
are  fairly  extensive.  A  stone  grave  is  made  by  setting  six  to  eight 
stones  on  edge,  carefully  joined  to  form  a  box;  in  this  the  body  in  the 
flesh  is  buried  at  full  length.  Usually  the  stone  graves  were  lined  at 
the  bottom  and  covered  at  the  top  with  flat  stones.  At  one  site  they 
were  found  under  mounds  which  contained  crematory  pits  and  ossuaries 
of  a  group  of  unknown  culture. 

These  stone  graves  are  generally  devoid  of  artifacts,  although  some- 
times they  contain  small  mortuary  vessels  of  pottery.  At  the  head 
or  foot  of  the  individual  within  the  stone  grave  are  extended  burials 
and  many  burials  of  bones.  Thus  on  such  sites  there  is  evidence  of  at 
least  two  methods  of  disposal  of  the  dead.  Because  of  a  dearth  of  arti- 
facts the  cultural  connections  of  these  people  are  uncertain. 

Within  this  area,  built  upon  a  stone  grave  cemetery  seemingly  at  a 
later  date,  a  village  site  has  been  found  and  a  group  of  sixty  or  more 
mounds,  many  of  which  have  proven  to  be  crematory  pits  for  burning 
the  bones  of  the  dead.  Remains  show  the  practice  of  cremation, 
strongly  suggestive  of  some  members  of  the  Siouan  linguistic  stock,  and 
collections  of  jumbled  human  bones  are  found,  often  within  the  same 
mound.  Such  ossuaries  often  contain  the  bones  of  hundreds  of  indi- 
viduals, packed  into  small,  stone,  chimney-like  vaults,  similar  to  the 
crematory  pits.  Here  again  were  two  methods  of  dealing  with  the 
dead.  Artifacts  found  in  this  association  are  few,  the  most  character- 


ARCHEOLOGY    AND    INDIANS  33 

istic  being  pottery  "elbow"  pipes.     These  pipes  and  burial  customs 
are  similar  to  those  described  by  Gerard  Fowke  in  Missouri. 

The  third  culture  within  this  area  has  been  called  the  Gordon  or 
Tennessee-Cumberland  aspect,  first  described  by  Meyer  in  the  Cum- 
berland River  region  of  Tennessee.  This  culture  is  distinguished  by 
the  erection  of  earth  mounds  over  the  sites  of  buildings  or  temples. 
The  remains  of  these  buildings,  which  were  made  of  wattlework  be- 
tween posts  driven  into  the  earth,  show  that  they  were  destroyed  by 
fire  and  covered  with  earth  while  the  fire  was  yet  burning.  Over  this 
a  new  structure  was  erected  which,  in  time,  went  the  way  of  the  first. 
Generally  the  mounds  show  several  levels  of  occupation.  Remains 
of  maize  are  found  in  the  temple  sites,  indicating  that  the  people  of 
this  culture  practiced  agriculture.  They  made  pottery,  producing  dis- 
tinct and  attractive  types,  many  of  which  show  outside  influence.  One 
characteristic  form  is  a  textile-marked  vessel  of  large  size,  commonly 
called  a  salt  pan.  Shards  of  such  vessels  are  found  in  great  number 
in  the  dirt  forming  the  mounds  that  cover  the  sites  of  burned  build- 
ings. 

While,  in  places,  these  earth  mounds  are  found  near  the  stone  grave 
cemeteries,  not  all  are  so  situated.  Some  of  the  larger  sites  show  full- 
length  burials  in  the  flesh,  accompanied  by  a  variety  of  artifacts.  The 
occupancy  of  this  area  by  so  many  different  peoples  complicates  the 
problem  of  identification;  on  the  other  hand  it  has  increased  the 
stratification  of  artifacts  and  culture  customs. 

The  Jesuit  Relations  recounts  that  the  Five  Nations,  or  Iroquois,  in 
New  York,  got  guns  from  the  Dutch  about  1630  and  turned  on  their 
less  advanced  neighbors  to  the  north,  south,  and  west  with  such  fury 
that  by  1690  the  present  States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky  were  depop- 
ulated, their  inhabitants  having  fled  across  the  Mississippi  River  or 
to  the  southeast. 

About  1645-1650  a  group  of  these  fugitives  from  the  upper  Ohio 
began  to  cross  the  present  State  by  the  Athiomiowee,  or  Warriors' 
Trace.  They  were  overtaken  by  their  Iroquoian  foes,  but  fortified 
themselves  and  drove  them  back.  In  Virginia  they  defeated  Colonel 
Howard  Hill  and  killed  the  chief  of  his  Indian  allies,  Totopottomoi,  a 
successor  to  Powhatan.  The  Virginia  records  call  these  fugitives 
Rickohockans  and  later  Occaneechos.  Others  of  these  same  people 
turned  down  the  Ohio — called  the  Acansea  River  on  early  French  maps 
— and  the  Mississippi,  and  finally  settled  on  the  Missouri  and  Arkansas 
Rivers. 


34  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Between  1715  and  1725  a  number  of  the  Piqua  band  of  Shawnee 
returned  from  the  South  and  built  a  town,  Eskippakithiki,  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Clark  County.  There  they  remained  for  some  time 
until  they  moved  to  Ohio  and  took  sides  with  the  French  in  the  cam- 
paign against  Braddock. 

In  1736  the  French  took  a  census  of  the  Ohio  Valley  and  credited 
the  Shawnees,  in  the  Carolina  region,  with  a  strength  of  200  men. 
This  was  probably  only  for  the  Shawnee  town  of  Eskippakithiki,  for 
the  Van  Keulen  map  of  1720  shows  a  trail  from  the  present  Illinois, 
crossing  the  Ohio  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River,  and  passing 
by  the  site  of  Eskippakithiki,  to  Cumberland  Gap,  which  is  labeled, 
"The  route  which  the  French  take  to  trade  with  Carolina." 

Peter  Chartier,  a  half-breed  Shawnee  trader,  the  son  of  Martin 
Chartier,  was  in  Kentucky  in  the  late  seventeenth  century.  He  had 
his  chief  post  at  the  Shawnee  town  on  the  Pequea  Creek  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  probably  reached  out  for  trade  with  his  Shawnee  kinsmen 
in  Kentucky.  In  1745,  he  was  reprimanded  by  the  Governor  for  sell- 
ing liquor  to  the  Indians,  and  accepted  a  captaincy  in  the  French 
service  and  fled  down  the  Ohio  River,  taking  with  him  400  Shawnee 
warriors  and  their  families.  Having  robbed  all  the  English  traders 
they  met,  they  went  to  their  kinsmen  at  Eskippakithiki,  where  they 
stopped  until  the  fall  of  1747.  After  making  trouble  in  the  South  for 
several  years,  they  drifted  back,  stopping  at  the  present  Shawneetown, 
Illinois,  until  they  were  allowed  to  return  to  their  British  allegiance 
and  their  old  homes.  Chartier  fled  to  the  French  in  Illinois. 

About  1729  Shawnees,  Delawares,  and  Mingoes  built  Lower  Shaw- 
neetown on  the  western  side  of  the  Scioto  River  at  its  mouth.  A 
suburb  of  this  backwoods  capital  was  built  on  the  Kentucky  side,  now 
Fullerton,  and  some  trading  posts  were  established  there  by  Colonel 
George  Croghan,  and  others.  This  town  and  its  Kentucky  suburb 
were  deserted  just  before  the  French  and  Indian  War.  Eskippakithiki 
and  Lower  Shawneetown  were  the  last  Indian  settlements  in  Kentucky. 


HISTORY 


KENTUCKY  was  the  first  State  to  be  organized  west  of  the  Ap- 
palachian Mountains.  At  the  mountain  barrier  the  westward 
movement  of  American  immigrants  had  come  to  its  first  halt,  but  there 
was  a  lively  curiosity  about  the  land  beyond  to  the  west. 

In  1642  a  company  of  English  adventurers,  Walter  Austin,  Rice 
Hoe,  Joseph  Johnson,  and  Walter  Chiles,  petitioned  for  "leave  and 
encouragement  to  explore  westward."  Whatever  their  intentions  may 
have  been,  they  failed  to  use  their  grant.  Twenty-seven  years  passed 
before  the  subject  of  western  exploration  was  again  discussed  in  the 
Virginia  Assembly.  A  permit  was  granted  in  1669  to  John  Lederer,  a 
German  adventurer  and  personal  friend  of  Governor  Berkeley,  to  ex- 
plore westward.  He  made  three  trips  into  the  Blue  Ridge,  passing 
through  the  neighborhood  of  what  is  now  Lynchburg,  but  accom- 
plished little.  In  1671,  Colonel  Abram  Wood,  commandant  of  Fort 
Henry  at  Petersburg,  Virginia,  sent  Thomas  Batts  and  Robert  Fallam 
into  the  western  ranges  to  find  the  "ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  rivers 
on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains  in  order  to  reach  the  South  Seas." 
This  expedition  reached  the  Ohio  Valley,  but  the  English  were  not 
much  impressed  with  the  findings.  Two  or  three  years  later,  however, 
they  discovered  that  the  French  were  active  in  the  western  country 
beyond  the  mountains.  The  English  became  intensely  interested  when 
the  French,  by  virtue  of  the  Mississippi  voyages  of  Jolliet  and  Mar- 
quette  in  1673  and  of  La  Salle  in  1682,  claimed  all  the  region  drained 
by  the  Mississippi  River  and  its  tributaries.  James  Needham  and 
Gabriel  Arthur  were  sent  into  the  West  in  1673.  Needham  was  killed, 
but  Arthur  made  his  way  into  northeastern  Kentucky  with  the  Indians 
and  may  have  been  the  first  Englishman  on  Kentucky  soil.  English 
interest  in  the  trans-Allegheny  region  lagged  for  70  years  and  was 
confined  to  the  cis-Allegheny  frontier. 

In  1742  John  Peter  Salley  (or  Sailing)  led  a  party  from  Virginia  to 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio  River.  One  or  two  of  the  men  were  killed,  and 
Salley  was  captured  by  French  adventurers  and  sent  to  prison,  first  at 

35 


36  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Natchez,  and  later  in  Cuba  and  France,  He  finally  returned  to 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Salley's  adventure  stimulated  a  fresh 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  English  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  Seven  years 
later  Pierre  Joseph  Celoron,  Sieur  de  Blainville,  set  out  from  Quebec 
to  lay  claim  for  the  French  to  all  the  land  between  Quebec  and  New 
Orleans.  The  news  of  this  expedition  aroused  the  English  whose 
Colonial  officials  took  steps  to  make  counter  claims.  Land  companies 
were  organized  and  plans  were  made  at  once  to  send  surveyors  beyond 
the  mountains  to  lay  out  claims  to  large  tracts  of  lands  for  prospective 
settlements.  The  Loyal  Land  Company  at  Charlottesville,  Virginia, 
secured  a  grant  of  800,000  acres  and  dispatched  an  expedition  west- 
ward under  Dr.  Thomas  Walker  in  1750.  The  party  left  Charlottes- 
ville on  March  6  and  came  to  a  wide  pass  in  the  Allegheny  wall  on 
April  13.  Walker  refers  to  the  pass  in  his  journal  as  "Cave  Gap" 
through  which  his  party  passed  on  their  way  to  within  a  short  distance 
from  what  is  now  Barboursville.  Here  the  expedition  established  its 
base  for  operations,  explored  the  eastern  mountain  range  of  Kentucky 
for  several  weeks,  and  left  the  country  on  June  20,  1750. 

The  next  year  Christopher  Gist,  a  frontier  scout  and  explorer,  was 
employed  by  the  Ohio  Land  Company  to  visit  the  West.  He  traveled 
through  passes  in  the  neighborhood  of  modern  Pittsburgh  and  made 
his  way  through  Indian  trading  villages  down  the  Ohio  River  to  the 
Kentucky  country.  In  March  1751  he  visited  Big  Bone  Lick,  and 
headed  for  the  great  Falls  of  the  Ohio  River,  now  Louisville,  but 
friendly  Shawnee  Indians  warned  him  of  hostile  tribes  encamped  about 
the  falls.  Gist  turned  back,  passing  over  the  mountains  to  North 
Carolina. 

The  settlement  line  along  the  Virginia  and  Carolina  frontiers  grew 
more  and  more  populous  from  1751  to  1786.  The  settlers  were  anxious 
to  move  westward  to  new  and  more  fertile  lands,  but  the  country  was 
involved  in  the  French  and  Indian  War  from  1755  to  1763  and  it  was 
dangerous.  It  appeared  for  a  time  that  the  land  which  is  now  Ken- 
tucky would  fall  to  the  French,  but  the  tide  turned  at  last,  and  on 
February  10,  1763,  the  Treaty  of  Paris  was  signed.  The  English  got 
possession  of  the  land  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  but  to  the  disap- 
pointment of  the  frontiersmen,  King  George  III  issued  the  proclama- 
tion of  1763  forbidding  settlers  to  move  beyond  the  line  of  watershed 
in  the  Appalachian  highlands. 

Despite  the  King's  proclamation,  scouts  of  one  kind  or  another 
brought  back  from  the  West  thrilling  stories  of  the  new  country.  Mrs. 


HISTORY  37 

Inglis,  with  a  German  woman  companion,  came  into  the  northern  Ken- 
tucky country  as  captives  of  the  Indians,  from  whom  they  escaped 
almost  miraculously.  The  so-called  silver  miners,  led  by  John  Swift, 
were  in  Kentucky  from  time  to  time  during  the  1760's.  A  legend  pre- 
vails to  this  day  that  Swift  and  his  companions  mined  large  quantities 
of  silver  in  Kentucky  and  many  communities  yet  claim  the  site  of  the 
Swift  silver  mines. 

The  "long  hunters,"  so  called  because  of  long  periods  of  time  spent 
by  men  of  the  eastern  frontier  settlements  in  hunting  across  the  moun- 
tains, began  to  invade  the  Kentucky  country.  Among  them  were  John 
Raines,  Uriah  Stone,  John  Finley,  Henry  Skaggs,  and  Daniel  Boone. 
Boone's  fame  has  grown  with  the  passage  of  time  until  he  has  become, 
in  legend  at  least,  the  chief  figure  of  the  early  Kentucky  frontier  days. 
His  life  is  symbolical  of  the  western  movement  in  American  history. 

Born  in  Berks  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1734,  Boone  had  moved  with 
his  parents  in  1750  to  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina,  on  the 
Yadkin.  He  was  restless  by  nature,  and  in  1766  entered  upon  a  career 
of  exploration  that  first  took  him  as  far  south  as  St.  Augustine, 
Florida.  Returning  to  North  Carolina,  he  was  influenced  to  go  West 
by  John  Finley's  stories  of  Kentucky,  and  crossed  through  Cumber- 
land Gap.  But  instead  of  reaching  the  Bluegrass  country  he  spent 
the  winter  of  1767  in  the  tablelands  of  eastern  Kentucky,  and  returned 
to  North  Carolina.  In  May  1769,  Boone,  Finley,  and  several  com- 
panions started  for  Kentucky.  They  spent  the  summer  hunting  in 
the  cane  lands  and  before  they  realized  it  winter  was  upon  them. 
When  their  stores  were  broken  into  by  the  Indians  in  December  and 
a  number  of  horses  were  stolen,  the  party  broke  up,  and  Finley  with 
three  of  his  companions  returned  to  North  Carolina. 

Meanwhile,  Squire  Boone,  a  brother  of  Daniel,  and  a  companion 
had  come  out  to  Kentucky.  The  two  brothers  hunted  for  a  year,  and 
wandered  over  the  country  from  the  Big  Sandy  to  the  Cumberland 
Rivers.  It  was  during  these  years,  1769-1771,  that  Daniel  Boone 
acquired  information  about  the  Kentucky  country  that  later  made  him 
a  valuable  scout. 

The  next  whites  to  appear  in  Kentucky  were  the  land  surveyors  sent 
out  by  land  companies  and  speculators.  Captain  Thomas  Bullitt  led 
one  such  party  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  River  in  June  1773,  where  he 
made  a  survey  of  the  lands  where  Louisville  now  stands.  At  the  same 
time  the  McAfee  brothers  were  surveying  lands  up  the  Kentucky 


38  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

River.  James  Harrod  led  another  surveying  party  in  1774  to  the 
neighborhood  now  known  as  Harrodsburg. 

No  settlement  had  been  established  as  yet,  but  immediately  after 
the  Indian  disturbances  had  been  settled  by  the  Dunmore  War,  specu- 
lators laid  plans  to  claim  vast  surveys  in  the  West.  The  best  known 
of  these  speculative  ventures  was  the  Transylvania  Land  Company, 
organized  in  1773  as  the  Richard  Henderson  Company,  under  the 
leadership  of  Judge  Richard  Henderson  of  North  Carolina.  He  and 
his  associates,  Colonel  Nathaniel  Hart  and  others,  made  a  treaty  with 
the  Cherokee  Indians  on  March  17,  1775,  at  Sycamore  Shoals  on  the 
Watauga  River,  granting  the  whites  possession  of  all  the  land  south  of 
the  Ohio  River,  north  of  the  Cumberland  River,  and  west  of  the  Ap- 
palachian ranges.  Henderson  also  purchased  a  tract  that  reached  from 
Cumberland  Gap  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Cumberland  River.  Daniel 
Boone  and  thirty  companions  were  dispatched  immediately  to  Ken- 
tucky to  blaze  the  trail,  and  locate  suitable  river  fording  places. 
Henderson  and  his  party  followed  and  in  May  1775,  the  settlement 
at  Boonesboro  was  begun. 

Harrodsburg,  of  Virginia  origin,  was  also  settled  in  early  1775.  The 
founding  of  St.  Asaph  Station  and  Boiling  Springs  followed  immedi- 
ately. Judge  Henderson  issued  a  call  on  May  23,  1775,  to  all  these 
forts  to  send  delegates  to  Boonesboro  for  the  purpose  of  making  laws 
to  govern  the  settlements.  The  nine  laws  passed  by  this  meeting  are 
sometimes  called  the  first  legislative  acts  passed  by  a  Kentucky  Legisla- 
ture, though  this  is  not  strictly  true. 

Rivalry  soon  developed  between  the  Virginia  and  North  Carolina 
settlements.  George  Rogers  Clark,  a  young  Virginian  who  had  re- 
cently come  West,  called  a  meeting  at  Harrodsburg  on  June  6,  1776, 
of  all  the  Kentucky  forts  to  discuss  a  course  of  procedure.  Clark  and 
John  Gabriel  Jones  were  selected  as  delegates  to  go  to  Williamsburg 
and  present  their  problems  to  the  Virginia  Legislature,  but  they  ar- 
rived too  late  to  go  before  the  assembly.  Clark,  however,  was  able  to 
secure  an  appropriation  of  500  pounds  of  gunpowder  for  the  protection 
of  Kentucky. 

Clark  and  Jones  learned,  while  in  Williamsburg,  that  Richard  Hen- 
derson and  his  associates  were  attempting  to  secure  recognition  of  their 
colony.  The  Harrodsburg  delegates,  thereupon,  decided  to  remain  in 
Virginia  until  the  assembly  convened  in  the  fall  in  order  that  they 
might  protect  the  rights  of  the  Harrodsburg  settlers.  It  was  largely 
through  their  influence  that  the  Transylvania  Land  Company  was  de- 


HISTORY  39 

clared  illegal,  and  that  Kentucky  County  was  created  out  of  Fincastle 
County  on  December  6,  1776.  The  name  Kentucky  was  first  used 
officially  by  Virginia  at  this  time. 

When  Clark  and  Jones  returned  to  Kentucky  they  found  many 
settlers  moving  into  the  West.  The  Indians,  however,  were  a  constant 
menace,  and  Clark  realized  that  if  the  Kentucky  settlements  were  to 
survive,  a  military  drive  would  have  to  be  made  beyond  the  Ohio. 
He  therefore  sought  the  permission  and  assistance  of  the  Virginia  As- 
sembly and  Governor  Patrick  Henry  to  attack  the  Indians  and  the 
English  in  their  stronghold  beyond  the  Ohio  River,  and  won  approval 
of  his  plans  in  December  1777.  Starting  out  from  Virginia,  Clark  went 
to  the  Redstone  settlement  near  Pittsburgh  to  recruit  troops  for  his 
western  expedition.  At  the  same  time  he  dispatched  an  agent  to  the 
Watauga  settlements  in  Tennessee  for  the  same  purpose.  Both  Clark 
and  his  agent  were  disappointed  in  the  number  of  troops  secured.  In- 
stead of  350,  which  he  wanted,  he  got  less  than  200,  and  many  of  them 
objected  to  fighting  beyond  the  Ohio  River.  Clark,  nevertheless,  pro- 
ceeded to  Corn  Island  in  the  Ohio,  opposite  the  site  on  which  Louis- 
ville stands  today. 

The  expedition  started  secretly  in  June  1778  for  Kaskaskia,  and 
took  the  town  by  surprise.  This  successful  coup  was  followed  by  a 
similar  one  against  the  town  of  Cahokia.  In  the  fall  Governor  Hamil- 
ton arrived  at  Vincennes,  the  main  French  post  in  the  northwest,  with 
a  large  force  of  British  and  Indian  troops,  and  the  British  flag  was 
raised  over  the  village.  Hamilton  thought  he  was  perfectly  safe  in 
Vincennes,  but  in  February  1779  Clark  and  his  troops  took  Vincennes 
by  surprise  and  captured  the  fort.  The  Indians  were  thus  driven  back 
temporarily  from  Kentucky  and  the  American  frontier  was  extended 
to  the  Mississippi  River. 

In  the  meantime  Kentuckians  were  having  Indian  troubles  at  home. 
Daniel  Boone  and  his  salt-making  companions  were  captured  at  the 
Lower  Blue  Licks  February  7,  1778,  and  carried  away  to  Detroit  where 
he  was  adopted  as  a  son  of  Chief  Black  Fish.  He  lived  happily  with 
the  Indians  for  a  time,  but  when  he  heard  that  the  French-Canadian, 
De  Quindre,  was  plotting  with  the  Indians  to  attack  Boonesboro,  he 
returned  to  that  settlement  to  prepare  for  the  attack.  The  Indians 
under  the  command  of  De  Quindre  appeared  before  the  fort  and  de- 
manded its  surrender;  the  demand  was  refused  and  the  attack  re- 
pulsed. The  Kentucky  settlements  were  saved. 

The  British  and  Indians  made  a  second  major  attack  in  1782,  strik- 


4o  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

ing  at  Bryan  Station  on  August  15.  Four  days  later  the  Kentuckians 
pursued  them  to  the  banks  of  the  Licking  River.  On  a  limestone  road 
in  a  ravine  at  Blue  Licks  occurred  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  ever 
fought  on  the  frontier.  Though  the  Americans  were  defeated,  this  was 
the  last  battle  of  any  significance  fought  against  the  Indians  on  Ken- 
tucky soil. 

As  the  Kentucky  country  became^  more  settled  and  Indian  skirmishes 
became  less  frequent,  the  settlers  grew  tired  of  living  in  stockades. 
County  organizations  and  taverns  began  to  spring  up.  The  Falls  of 
the  Ohio,  which  became  Louisville,  was  surveyed  in  1773  by  Thomas 
Bullitt;  Boonesboro  was  incorporated  in  1779;  Washington  and  Mays- 
ville  soon  followed;  the  plan  for  the  town  of  Lexington  was  adopted 
in  1781.  The  Kentuckians  soon  began  to  consider  separating  their 
territory  from  Virginia  and  becoming  one  of  the  States  of  the  con- 
federation. They  first  met  in  Danville  December  27,  1784,  to  discuss 
the  matter  formally;  ten  conventions  were  called  before  an  independent 
State  was  created.  (In  the  meantime  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  was  written  and  ratified.)  Many  reasons  for  a  separation  were 
discussed  in  these  conventions:  objections  to  Virginia  taxes,  inability 
of  Kentuckians  to  adapt  Virginia  laws  to  local  situations,  the  refusal 
of  Virginia  to  permit  Kentuckians  to  pursue  Indians  beyond  the  Ohio 
River,  and  the  fact  that  all  cases  appealed  to  higher  courts  had  to  be 
carried  back  to  Richmond  for  trial.  Some  people  demanded  that  Ken- 
tucky become  simply  an  independent  State  and  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  Union,  some  wished  to  become  a  part  of  the  Spanish  Empire, 
some  to  remain  a  part  of  Virginia.  Others  demanded  recognition  as 
one  of  the  States  of  the  Union.  The  long,  bitter  struggle  finally  came 
to  an  end  in  the  framing  of  a  constitution  at  Danville  in  April  1792. 
On  June  1,  1792,  Kentucky  was  admitted  as  a  State  into  the  Union. 

The  new  government  was  inaugurated  June  4,  1792,  in  Lexington. 
General  Isaac  Shelby,  by  common  consent,  was  chosen  to  be  the  first 
Governor.  The  Sheaf  of  Wheat  Tavern  in  Lexington  became  tem- 
porarily the  statehouse,  and  the  legislature  met  for  its  first  session  in  a 
capitol  building  of  logs.  Its  first  task  was  to  select  a  permanent  site 
for  the  State  Capital;  December  8,  1792,  Frankfort  was  so  designated. 

Kentucky's  first  constitution  was  modeled  to  some  extent  on  the 
National  Constitution.  All  white  males  over  21  years  of  age  were 
permitted  to  vote,  the  Governor  and  senators  were  elected  by  an  elec- 
toral college,  slavery  was  protected,  and  a  bill  of  rights  of  27  divisions 
was  attached.  It  failed,  however,  to  provide  for  a  public  school  system. 


HISTORY  41 

In  1799  a  second  constitutional  convention  was  held,  and  a  new  con- 
stitution was  adopted.  It  created  the  office  of  Lieutenant  Governor, 
and  made  all  State  officers  subject  to  direct  election  by  the  people.  An 
interesting  provision  prohibited  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  from  serving 
in  the  capacity  of  a  lawmaker.  Slave  owners  were  afraid  that  ministers 
would  attempt  to  pass  abolition  legislation. 

Kentucky  became  deeply  involved  in  the  famous  French  conspiracy 
at  this  time.  When  Charles  Edmund  Genet  landed  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  on  April  8,  1793,  he  dispatched  his  agents  to  the  west- 
ern country.  George  Rogers  Clark  was  given  a  high  commission  in  the 
French  Army  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Liberty  poles  were  erected  in 
many  towns  and  Kentuckians  hailed  one  another  as  "Citizen."  Al- 
though the  conspiracy  was  put  down,  the  citizens  of  the  State  continued 
to  favor  the  French.  In  1798  they  protested  against  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  laws  passed  by  the  Adams  government  in  Philadelphia.  John 
Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  in  co-operation  with  Thomas  Jefferson, 
drafted  the  famous  series  of  resolutions  setting  forth  what  they  be- 
lieved to  be  State  rights.  There  was  much  public  debate  on  the  ques- 
tion and  popular  opinion  became  overwhelmingly  Republican.  George 
Nicholas,  of  Lexington,  a  keen  constitutionalist,  vigorously  attacked 
the  Federalist  laws.  Henry  Clay  delivered  his  first  significant  speech 
in  Kentucky  politics  on  the  question  of  States'  rights.  But  when 
Jefferson  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  Kentuckians  for- 
got their  attack  upon  the  National  Constitution. 

Between  1800-1804,  the  issue  of  trade  rights  on  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi River  was  settled  by  the  Louisiana  Purchase.  Kentuckians  had 
lived  in  constant  fear  that  the  temperamental  Spanish  officials  would 
remove  the  American  right  of  deposit,  and  that  Kentuckians  would  be 
unable  to  sell  their  products  southward.  In  1802  their  fears  were 
realized,  and  the  Spanish  canceled  the  right  of  deposit.  The  situation 
was  relieved,  however,  when  Louisiana  passed  into  American  hands  in 
1803. 

Hardly  had  Kentuckians  ceased  rejoicing  than  they  were  involved, 
innocently,  in  another  national  scandal.  Aaron  Burr,  who  had  killed 
Alexander  Hamilton  in  a  duel,  came  to  the  State  and  plotted  much 
of  his  proposed  independent  republic  in  the  Southwest.  Many  promi- 
nent Kentuckians  became  involved  in  the  plot.  Burr  was  twice  brought 
to  trial  in  the  Federal  Court  of  the  District  of  Kentucky,  but  was  re- 
leased both  times  as  not  guilty  of  the  charges  of  treason  preferred 
against  him. 


42  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

When  the  excitement  about  the  Burr  conspiracy  had  somewhat  sub- 
sided, Kentucky  became  agitated  over  the  possibility  of  a  war  with 
England.  News  reached  Kentucky  in  1807  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
Leopard  affair.  Public  opinion  in  favor  of  war  ran  high,  and  the  local 
press  cried  out  loudly  against  England.  The  State  legislature  passed 
laws  forbidding  the  use  of  certain  British  laws  and  citation  of  British 
cases  in  court.  Realizing  the  temper  of  the  public  mind,  the  politi- 
cians who  sought  office  began  to  agitate  the  question  of  expanding 
American  territory.  Henry  Clay  and  Richard  M.  Johnson  were  elected 
to  Congress  on  an  expansionist  platform.  Henry  Clay  even  went  so 
far  as  to  advocate  the  annexation  of  Canada.  By  1811  Kentuckians 
virtually  demanded  war  with  England.  When  war  was  formally  de- 
clared in  1812,  Kentuckians  advanced  rapidly  to  the  area  about  De- 
troit. A  large  part  of  the  American  forces  at  the  Battle  of  the  Thames 
consisted  of  Kentucky  militiamen  under  the  command  of  Gov.  Isaac 
Shelby  and  Congressman  Richard  Mentor  Johnson.  When  Gen.  An- 
drew Jackson  defeated  the  British  forces  at  New  Orleans  on  January  8, 
1815,  5,500  Kentuckians  were  present,  under  Generals  Thomas  and 
Adair. 

After  the  War  of  1812  Kentuckians  turned  their  attention  to  more 
constructive  interests.  Western  manufactures  were  increasing  because 
British  goods  were  off  the  American  market  from  1805-1815.  Ken- 
tucky hemp,  cloth  and  rope  manufacturers  especially  enjoyed  a  flourish- 
ing trade,  and  butchers,  distillers,  salt-makers,  and  cabinetmakers  were 
prosperous.  Land  prices  advanced  and  Louisville,  Lexington,  Mays- 
ville,  Covington,  Carrollton,  Paducah,  Henderson,  and  Hickman  were 
rapidly  becoming  busy  trade  centers.  River  boatmen  began  to  clamor 
for  a  canal  around  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  at  Louisville.  A  company 
was  chartered  by  the  State  legislature  in  1805  for  this  purpose,  but  the 
work  was  delayed  and  the  canal  was  not  completed  until  1829.  The 
first  successful  steamboat  trip  on  western  waters  was  taken  by  the 
New  Orleans  to  New  Orleans  in  1811  by  Captain  Nicholas  Roosevelt. 
About  1815  a  steamboat,  the  Enterprise,  came  up  the  river  from  New 
Orleans  and  thereafter  the  steamboat  business  began  to  thrive.  By 
1860  Kentuckians  were  supplying  the  Southern  States  with  the  most 
of  their  manufactured  goods. 

With  prosperous  conditions,  there  came  a  demand  for  improved  bank- 
ing facilities.  Kentucky  at  the  time  had  a  system  of  State  banks  to 
which  was  entrusted  the  responsibility  of  issuing  currency,  but  the 
amount  issued  was  insufficient  for  the  successful  conduct  of  business. 


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HISTORY  43 

By  1818  the  demand  for  an  increase  in  the  number  of  banks  was  so 
great  that  the  Bank  of  Kentucky  was  expanded  to  include  more  than 
40  branches.  Each  branch  bank  was  given  the  authority  to  issue  its 
own  currency.  In  a  short  time,  however,  the  lack  of  control  over  the 
volume  of  currency  issued  led  to  general  financial  confusion,  and  to 
depreciation  in  value  of  currency.  The  situation  became  so  acute  that 
in  December  1819,  the  general  assembly  passed  a  law  granting  a  stay 
of  execution  for  60  days.  This  relief  was  not  sufficient  to  stem  the 
tide.  In  February  1820,  all  debtors  were  given  a  moratorium  of  two 
years.  A  test  case  was  carried  to  the  courts,  and  the  circuit  court  of 
Bourbon  County  declared  the  law  unconstitutional.  Later,  the  State 
court  of  appeals  upheld  the  local  court  and  the  legislature  declared  that 
the  courts  were  thwarting  the  will  of  the  people.  A  struggle  between 
the  legislative  and  the  judicial  branches  of  the  government  continued 
until  1829,  when  the  court  was  finally  absolved  of  all  the  charges  made 
against  it. 

The  legislative-judicial  struggle  over  the  banking  question  created 
two  political  parties  in  Kentucky.  In  the  Presidential  campaign  of 
1824  one  of  the  four  candidates  in  the  field  was  Henry  Clay  of  Ken- 
tucky, who  was  defeated;  but,  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, he  was  a  powerful  factor  in  deciding  whom  Congress  should  select 
for  the  next  President.  The  Kentucky  General  Assembly  had  in- 
structed Clay  to  support  Jackson,  but  he  disobeyed  instructions  and 
supported  John  Quincy  Adams.  This  brought  about  another  break  in 
Kentucky  politics ;  the  Clay  supporters  became  Whigs  and  the  Jackson 
supporters  became  Democrats.  This  alignment  prevailed  until  1860. 

The  institution  of  slavery  was  a  political  issue  in  Kentucky  from 
1792  to  1865.  Slavery  had  been  transferred  to  the  West  as  a  part  of 
the  social  organization  of  the  State,  but  it  was  not  an  economic  suc- 
cess. Lack  of  transportation  facilities  made  large-scale  tobacco  culture 
unprofitable  in  the  early  years;  and  the  cultivation  of  hemp  and  grain 
and  the  breeding  of  livestock  were  not  adapted  to  slave  labor. 

After  1820  many  Kentucky  farmers  moved  to  the  Cotton  Belt  where 
they  could  employ  their  slaves  with  profit.  Others  sold  off  their  sur- 
plus supply  of  Negroes  to  the  southern  planters.  When  the  War  be- 
tween the  States  broke  out,  Kentucky  had  approximately  225,000 
slaves.  The  State  was  divided  into  two  distinct  economic  units.  The 
Bluegrass  counties,  in  which  slavery  existed  to  the  greatest  extent,  quite 
generally  favored  the  southern  economic  system.  The  poorer  counties 
and  the  larger  urban  centers  were  quite  generally  opposed  to  slavery. 


44  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Originally  the  chief  criticism  of  slavery  came  from  the  churches  and 
the  clergy.  The  slaveholders  were  constantly  on  guard  against  this 
opposition,  and  since  they  exercised  more  political  influence  than  the 
clergy,  they  succeeded  in  building  a  wall  of  protective  legislation  about 
the  system  of  slave  labor.  Between  1820  and  1835  the  American 
Colonization  Society,  of  which  Henry  Clay  was  president,  made  con- 
siderable headway  in  Kentucky.  At  the  same  time  outside  abolitionists 
began  to  attack  Kentucky  slavery;  this  caused  much  hard  feeling  in 
the  State,  and  probably  did  more  immediate  harm  than  good.  The 
institution  of  slavery  also  found  severe  critics  within  the  State.  Cassius 
M.  Clay,  a  native  of  Madison  County,  and  publisher  of  the  True 
American,  a  newspaper  in  Lexington,  condemned  Kentucky  slavery 
very  bitterly. 

Other  live  issues  were  at  stake  in  antebellum  days.  When  Henry 
Clay  died  in  1852  he  left  behind  him  the  wreckage  of  the  Whig  party, 
and  no  leader  to  take  his  place.  Local  politicians  began  to  inject  into 
their  speeches  the  questions  of  religion  and  nationalities.  Catholics 
were  condemned  along  with  all  foreigners.  The  Sons  of  America,  or 
Native  Americans  as  they  called  themselves,  attempted  to  keep  posses- 
sion of  the  reins  of  local  government.  A  riot  in  Louisville  in  1855, 
known  as  "Bloody  Monday,"  resulted. 

In  the  Presidential  election  of  1860  Kentucky  voted  against  its  two 
native  sons,  Abraham  Lincoln  and  John  C.  Breckinridge,  and  gave  its 
majority  support  to  John  Bell  of  Tennessee,  who  proposed  to  save  the 
Union  at  any  cost.  Unlike  her  southern  neighbors  the  State  refused 
to  be  stampeded  into  secession.  Although  Kentucky  was  a  slave  State 
and  considered  itself  Southern,  it  leaned  toward  the  idea  of  maintaining 
the  Union  intact.  Commerce  and  agriculture  had  become  the  chief 
interests.  When  war  broke  out,  both  sides  looked  upon  Kentucky  as 
a  valuable  prize,  and  both  sides  disregarded  its  neutrality. 

During  the  early  part  of  1862  western  Kentucky  was  the  scene  of 
most  important  operations  between  Northern  troops  under  the  com- 
mand of  Grant,  McClellan,  and  Thomas,  and  the  Southern  troops 
under  the  command  of  Johnston,  Polk,  Buckner,  Crittenden,  and  Zol- 
licoffer.  Union  victory  at  Mill  Springs,  where  Zollicoffer  was  killed 
January  19,  opened  the  way  into  Eastern  Tennessee.  In  1863  the 
Confederates  under  Braxton  Bragg  and  Kirby  Smith  made  a  drive  into 
central  Kentucky.  Bragg  received  the  surrender  of  the  garrison  at 
Munfordville  on  September  17.  He  then  moved  northeastward  through 
Bardstown,  and  at  Perryville  stumbled  into  one  wing  of  the  Union  com- 


HISTORY  45 

mand  under  General  Don  Carlos  Buell.  Here  on  October  8  was  fought 
the  battle  of  Perryville,  the  bloodiest  encounter  in  Kentucky  history. 
The  result  was  a  draw.  Bragg  retreated,  leaving  Buell  in  possession 
of  the  field.  This  marked  the  end  of  any  serious  attempt  by  the  Con- 
federates to  gain  possession  of  Kentucky. 

Guerilla  warfare  was  carried  on  in  many  sections  of  Kentucky.  The 
famous  bushwhacker,  Quantrill  of  Missouri,  transferred  his  activities 
to  Kentucky  and  kept  local  communities  in  a  state  of  excitement.  So 
vicious  did  this  guerilla  warfare  become  that  Governor  Bramlette  was 
compelled  to  organize  a  home  guard  for  the  protection  of  local  com- 
munities. 

When  peace  came  in  1865  Kentucky  firmly  believed  that  it  would 
resume  its  peaceful  pursuit  of  developing  agriculture  and  industry,  but 
such  was  not  to  be  the  case.  The  carpetbaggers  realized  that  the  Ne- 
groes, many  of  whom  were  concentrated  in  Louisville  in  the  Federal 
camps,  offered  a  good  opportunity  for  political  advantage.  Farmers 
were  frightened  into  believing  that  they  would  be  completely  robbed  of 
labor.  Pamphlets  were  issued  inviting  foreigners  to  come  to  the  State. 
Even  Chinese  coolies  were  sought  as  a  solution  to  the  labor  problem. 
The  State  refused  to  ratify  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  amendments. 
By  1871  conditions  had  become  more  or  less  normal;  Kentuckians 
gradually  forgot  the  war  and  turned  to  the  problems  of  industry,  agri- 
culture, politics  and  temperance. 

The  lower  South,  which  had  been  Kentucky's  most  important  market, 
had  been  depleted  by  the  war.  Louisville  merchants  were  the  first  to 
realize  the  situation,  and  sent  ex-Confederate  soldiers  as  salesmen  into 
the  South  to  help  re-establish  the  crossroads  stores.  These  drummers 
were  instructed  to  sell  goods  at  all  cost.  Wholesale  houses  were  gen- 
erous in  their  credit  to  southern  merchants.  They  not  only  thoroughly 
canvassed  the  South,  but  Louisville  financiers  backed  the  extension  of 
the  L.  &  N.  R.R.  into  the  South.  Consequently  Kentuckians  soon  re- 
covered much  of  the  trade  which  they  had  lost  in  the  war,  and  the 
State's  industry  once  again  became  an  important  factor  in  the  economic 
development  of  the  South. 

Agriculture  presented  a  more  difficult  problem.  Many  Kentucky 
farmers  depended  upon  a  single  cash  crop,  tobacco,  and  with  each  suc- 
ceeding panic  following  1865,  Kentucky  tobacco  farmers,  like  southern 
cotton  farmers,  became  virtually  bankrupt.  This  difficulty  led  to  the 
organization  of  various  farmers'  movements — granger  organizations,  the 
Farmers'  Alliance,  and  finally  the  Populist  party.  The  Populists  de- 


46  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

manded  tariff  reforms,  regulation  of  transportation  agencies,  establish- 
ment of  agricultural  schools,  a  more  satisfactory  distribution  of  the  na- 
tional medium  of  exchange,  more  reasonable  farm  credits,  higher  agri- 
cultural prices,  and  the  framing  of  a  new  State  constitution  in  1890. 
This  constitution,  in  effect  today,  reflects  the  philosophy  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Populist  party  of  1890. 

Agricultural  issues  in  the  State  were  not  all  settled  peacefully.  From 
1907  to  1909  there  raged  in  the  dark  tobacco,  belt  a  "night-riders"  war 
which  resulted  in  many  fatalities.  The  reign  of  general  lawlessness  pre- 
vailed in  the  State  for  more  than  a  year,  until  it  was  ended  by  the  State 
militia,  called  out  by  the  Governor.  Agrarian  troubles  were  largely 
back  of  bitter  partisan  politics  that  prevailed  in  Kentucky  the  latter 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  gubernatorial  election  of  1899  was 
fiercely  fought.  William  Goebel  of  Covington  opposed  William  Syl- 
vester Taylor,  a  western  Kentuckian,  and  John  Young  Brown.  When 
the  votes  were  counted  it  was  found  that  Taylor  had  won  by  a  ma- 
jority of  more  than  2,000  votes.  The  supporters  of  Goebel  contested 
the  election.  While  the  legislature  was  considering  the  matter,  Goebel 
was  shot  by  an  assassin  (January  30,  1900).  The  legislature  at  once 
declared  Goebel  Governor,  but  he  died  on  February  3.  Kentucky 
was  almost  in  a  state  of  civil  war ;  for  several  months  it  had  two  Gov- 
ernors and  two  governments.  The  Democrats  won  in  the  end,  and 
J.  C.  W.  Beckham  succeeded  the  assassinated  Goebel  as  Governor. 
Several  years  were  required  to  allay  the  bitter  partisan  feeling  that  was 
engendered  by  this  affair. 

Since  1909  Kentucky  has  pursued  a  fairly  steady  and  progressive 
course,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Democrats  and  Republicans  have 
fought  each  other  bitterly  and  alternated  in  political  power. 

Kentucky  did  its  part  in  the  World  War  by  furnishing  75,043  men 
and  meeting  its  quotas  in  money  subscribed.  Men  were  encamped  and 
trained  at  Fort  Thomas,  Camp  Zachary  Taylor,  and  Camp  Knox.  The 
latter  was  not  dismantled  after  the  war  and  on  January  30,  1932,  it 
became  a  permanent  post  of  the  U.  S.  Army  and  officially  named  Fort 
Knox.  The  gold  vault  of  the  U.  S.  Treasury  is  located  on  the  reserva- 
tion. Capt.  Samuel  Woodfill,  a  Kentuckian,  was  cited  by  General 
Pershing  as  the  outstanding  soldier  of  the  war;  Woodfill  and  Willie 
Sandlin  were  awarded  Congressional  medals  of  honor  for  heroism.  Of 
the  men  who  were  drafted  and  enlisted,  70  to  80  percent  passed  their 
physical  examinations  and  were  accepted  for  Army  service. 

One  of  the  outstanding  achievements  of  the  twentieth  century  in  the 


HISTORY  47 

State  is  the  development  of  good  roads,  under  a  State  highway  commis- 
sion. By  1920  the  highway  system  was  well  enough  organized  to  take 
over  a  large  primary  system  of  highways.  The  effects  of  improved 
highways  in  Kentucky  upon  the  general  character  and  welfare  of  the 
people  cannot  be  overestimated.  Not  only  have  the  highways  speeded 
up  commerce  and  travel,  but  they  have  tended  to  break  down  section- 
alism. With  primary  roads  in  every  county,  it  is  no  longer  strange  to 
see  people  from  the  remote  eastern  and  western  sections  of  the  State 
strolling  the  streets  of  Louisville  as  nonchalantly  as  if  they  had  lived 
there  all  their  lives. 

In  the  50  years  following  the  first  census  of  1790  the  population 
increased  more  than  tenfold — from  73,677  to  779,828.  It  numbered 
1,858,635  in  1890  and  2,614,589  in  1930.  Only  30.6  percent  of  the 
1930  population  was  classified  as  urban. 

Kentucky's  government  has  recently  been  completely  modernized, 
but  this  has  been  done  without  touching  the  constitution  itself  and  with 
only  a  few  optional  alterations  in  the  county  structure.  Increasing  diffi- 
culties with  a  government  that  tried  to  operate  in  an  industrial  era,  on 
a  constitution  descended  from  Kentucky's  former  slave-owning  agricul- 
tural status,  led  to  the  appointment  of  an  efficiency  commission  in  1926. 
This  body  made  a  two-year  study  of  the  State's  governmental  needs, 
and  recommended  widespread  changes,  but  controversies  over  their 
adoption  disrupted  the  State  for  another  ten  years.  In  1934  the  execu- 
tive offices  were  reorganized  under  Governor  Ruby  Laffoon,  but  this 
reorganization  proved  too  cumbersome.  After  two  years  another  ex- 
haustive study  was  made  that  resulted  in  the  Shields-Nickell  Govern- 
mental Reorganization  Act,  approved  March  7,  1936. 

The  important  changes  in  this  reorganization  were  the  creation  of  a 
department  of  welfare,  expanded  powers  of  the  department  of  health, 
consolidation  of  the  State  tax  commission  and  the  department  of 
revenue  and  taxation  into  a  single  department  of  revenue,  added  powers 
of  the  efficiency  department  to  improve  the  civil  service,  and  the  crea- 
tion of  a  new  department  of  conservation.  Finally,  there  was  added  to 
the  State  government  the  legislative  council,  a  modern  unit  in  American 
government  in  operation  now  only  in  a  few  States.  The  function  of 
this  council  is  purely  advisory.  It  examines  and  reports  on  the  working 
of  the  existing  legislative  machine,  prepares  and  submits  programs  for 
the  general  assembly,  and  promotes  interstate  comity. 

The  present  Kentucky  government  follows  the  traditional  American 
system  of  three  branches — executive,  legislative,  and  judiciary — all  re- 


48  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

sponsible  directly  to  the  votes  of  the  citizens.  Citizenship  qualifications 
are  simple.  Any  person  not  an  idiot  or  insane,  who  is  over  twenty-one 
years  of  age  and  has  resided  in  the  State  one  year,  in  the  county  six 
months,  and  in  the  voting  precinct  sixty  days  next  preceding  election, 
is  qualified  to  vote;  except  that  any  person  convicted  of  a  felony  for- 
feits his  right  of  franchise,  unless  he  is  pardoned  by  the  governor. 
There  are  no  other  qualifications. 

The  two  units  of  local  government  are  the  county  and  the  city.  The 
county  government  today  is  an  interesting  survival  from  Colonial 
times,  when  its  forms  were  borrowed  more  or  less  directly  from  Eng- 
land. Counties  have  their  own  courts  which  administer  governmental 
functions ;  they  collect  and  spend  their  own  revenues  and  in  general 
regulate  their  affairs  as  they  please,  subject  only  to  the  restrictions  of 
the  general  assembly  which,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  is  restricted  by 
the  constitution  from  interfering  with  major  phases  of  local  adminis- 
tration. The  government  is  administered  entirely  by  courts  with  the 
county  judge  as  the  executive.  He  is  elected  by  the  county  at  large 
and  presides  over  the  county  court.  Beneath  this  court  the  county  is 
divided  into  magisterial  districts,  each  with  a  justice  of  the  peace  in 
authority.  These  justices  compose  the  fiscal  court  of  each  county, 
with  rather  indiscriminate  legislative  and  judicial  powers. 

Kentucky  cities  have  their  own  government,  independent  of  their 
surrounding  counties,  and  responsible  only  to  the  State.  The  legisla- 
ture divides  the  cities  into  six  classes,  according  to  population,  and 
provides  debt  limits  and  general  forms  of  government  for  each.  Three 
forms  of  city  government  are  established,  and  variations  from  these  are 
allowed  by  special  legislative  enactment:  the  standard  mayor-council 
form,  commission  government,  and  the  city  manager  plan. 

The  constitution  of  Kentucky,  which  covers  all  forms  of  government 
and  of  legislation  throughout  the  State,  is  subject  to  alteration  through 
two  methods.  An  amendment  may  be  proposed  in  either  branch  of  the 
general  assembly  at  a  regular  session,  and  if  agreed  to  by  a  three-fifths 
vote  of  both  branches,  may  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  State  for 
adoption.  Ninety  days  must  elapse  between  the  legislative  adoption  of 
the  amendment  and  its  submission  to  popular  vote;  and  not  more  than 
two  amendments  may  be  voted  on  at  any  one  time.  If  a  widespread 
revision  of  the  constitution  is  demanded,  a  general  constitutional  con- 
vention of  delegates,  equal  in  numbers  to  that  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, may  be  authorized  by  the  general  assembly.  The  conven- 
tion remodels  the  constitution  and  submits  it  to  popular  vote. 


HISTORY  49 

Kentucky  has  its  State  flag,  its  State  flower,  its  State  bird,  and  its 
State  song.  The  flag  is  Kentucky  blue  with  the  seal  of  the  Common- 
wealth encircled  by  a  wreath  of  goldenrod  in  the  center.  The  State 
flower  is  the  goldenrod,  the  bird  is  the  Kentucky  cardinal,  the  song 
is  "My  Old  Kentucky  Home,  Good  Night,"  by  Stephen  Collins  Foster. 


AGRICULTURE 


THE  EARLY  development  of  Kentucky  was  entirely  agricultural, 
and  at  first  only  those  trades  incidental  and  necessary  to  farming 
received  attention.  Lumbering,  mining,  and  manufacturing  had  to 
await  the  development  of  agriculture.  Isolated  from  markets  and 
sources  of  manufactured  goods,  farmers  produced  nearly  everything 
consumed  by  their  families,  and  each  farm  was  largely  a  self-contained 
and  self-supporting  economic  unit. 

Sugar  and  hardware  had  to  be  imported  from  the  beginning,  and  at 
first  were  paid  for  with  pelts.  When  farm  production  began  to  exceed 
consumption,  farmers  sought. means  of  exchanging  their  surplus  prod- 
ucts for  the  articles  they  had  to  buy.  A  system  of  country  merchan- 
dising based  upon  exchange  of  products  developed,  and  farming  for 
the  market  began. 

Prohibitive  freight  costs  over  the  Appalachian  Mountains  made  east- 
ward shipment  uneconomic  for  all  except  commodities  of  high  value  in 
proportion  to  bulk  and  weight.  The  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers, 
which  border  Kentucky  for  more  than  700  miles,  and  tributaries  of  the 
Ohio  that  flow  across  and  through  the  State,  give  Kentucky  more  miles 
of  major  navigable  streams  than  any  other  State.  With  a  mountain 
barrier  to  the  east  and  a  water  route  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  to 
New  Orleans  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  river  transportation  reached  a 
high  stage  of  development,  especially  after  the  coming  of  the  steam- 
boat. This  profoundly  affected  agriculture,  and  partly  accounts  for 
the  high  rank  of  Kentucky  as  an  agricultural  State  for  approximately 
seventy-five  years  preceding  the  War  between  the  States.  In  1839 
Kentucky  was  first  in  the  production  of  hemp,  second  in  the  production 
of  both  corn  and  hogs  (with  Tennessee  ranking  first),  fourth  in  the 
production  of  oats  and  rye,  and  one  of  the  leading  tobacco,  wheat,  and 
beef  producing  States.  The  influence  of  Kentucky  farmers,  repre- 
sented in  Congress  by  Henry  Clay,  contributed  to  the  establishment 
of  a  protective  tariff.  Competition  of  imported  fibers  with  hemp  in- 
duced Kentucky  farmers  to  endorse  the  policy  of  protection. 

50 


AGRICULTURE  51 

Properly  speaking,  commercialized  farming  dates  from  about  1825, 
when  the  first  market  for  tobacco  in  hogsheads  was  opened  at  Louis- 
ville. Before  this  time  Kentucky  tobacco  was  shipped  direct  from  the 
farm  to  New  Orleans.  Naturally,  production  was  confined  to  areas 
adjacent  to  navigable  rivers.  Western  Kentucky,  with  an  abundance 
of  navigable  streams,  enjoyed  transportation  facilities  superior  to  other 
parts  of  the  State,  and  consequently  became  the  State's  center  of  to- 
bacco culture.  Subsequently,  tobacco  production  of  the  dark  type 
was  so  concentrated  in  this  area  that  it  became  known  as  the  "Black 
Patch." 

Even  before  Kentucky  became  a  State,  tobacco  shared  with  hemp  the 
distinction  of  being  one  of  the  two  crops  grown  commercially.  Tobacco 
had  long  been  the  leading  money  crop  in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia, 
and  settlers  from  these  States  continued  its  culture.  The  variety 
grown  was  dark  and  heavy,  similar  to  the  present-day  dark-fired  type. 
It  was  believed  in  the  early  years  that  only  virgin  ground  would  grow 
good  tobacco.  Common  practice,  therefore,  was  to  clear  fresh  acreage 
for  the  crops  each  year.  Practically  all  land  used  for  tobacco  was 
originally  covered  with  hardwood  forests;  but  there  was  no  market  at 
that  time  for  timber  cleared  to  make  room  for  tobacco,  and  great  quan- 
tities of  walnut,  cherry,  chestnut,  hickory,  oak,  and  poplar  timber 
were  cut  and  burned  as  waste. 

Tobacco  production  increased  rapidly  after  1825,  and  by  1865  Ken- 
tucky was  producing  more  of  this  crop  than  any  other  State  in  the 
Union.  White  burley  was  first  raised  near  Higginsport,  Brown  County, 
Ohio,  in  1864,  from  seed  produced  in  Kentucky.  Rapid  spread  of 
this  tobacco  throughout  central  Kentucky  more  firmly  fixed  tobacco 
as  the  key  product  in  the  farm  economy  of  the  State.  Until  the  com- 
ing of  white  burley,  tobacco  had  not  been  grown  to  any  extent  in  cen- 
tral Kentucky.  Development  of  railway  facilities,  high  content  of 
calcium  and  phosphorus  in  the  soils  of  central  Kentucky,  and  the  fact 
that  burley  found  a  good  market  as  both  smoking  and  chewing  to- 
bacco, stimulated  the  rapid  increase  of  tobacco  raising  in  that  area. 
Tobacco  production  grew  rapidly  after  1865,  and  until  recent  years 
Kentucky  ranked  first  among  the  States  in  its  culture.  Lexington  is 
the  world's  largest  loose-leaf  tobacco  market. 

Formerly  grown  exclusively  in  the  Bluegrass  region,  burley  is  now 
raised  in  110  counties  of  the  State.  The  1933  crop,  the  last  which 
preceded  production  control,  was  250  million  pounds.  In  addition  to 
burley,  four  types  of  dark  tobacco— Dark-fired,  One-sucker,  Green 


52  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

River,  and  Stemming — are  grown  in  33  western  counties.  Dark  to- 
bacco, with  the  exception  of  the  finest  dark-fired,  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  snuff,  is  largely  exported. 

One-third  to  one-half  of  the  annual  cash  income  of  Kentucky  farmers 
is  derived  from  tobacco.  The  ease  with  which  it  lends  itself  to  a  one- 
crop  system  of  farming  has  had  much  to  do  with  establishing  it  as  a 
chief  product  of  the  State.  Because  of  long-continued  dependence  on 
tobacco  as  their  major  money  crop,  Kentucky  farmers  are  reluctant  to 
diversify  their  crops  or  to  adopt  more  modern  practices  in  tobacco  cul- 
ture. But  there  has  been  an  economic  collapse  in  the  dark-tobacco 
areas  in  Kentucky  since  the  World  War,  because  of  curtailed  foreign 
demand ;  and  as  a  result,  dairying,  poultry  farming,  small  fruit  orchard- 
ing, and  legume  production  are  developing  in  those  areas. 

Cotton,  the  chief  crop  produced  with  slave  labor,  was  never  grown 
to  any  large  extent  in  Kentucky.  Hemp  growing,  the  second  farm 
enterprise  in  point  of  time,  and  tobacco  production  afforded  the  most 
profitable  opportunity  in  Kentucky  for  the  use  of  slave  labor. 

The  first  crop  of  hemp  was  grown  near  Danville  in  1775.  When  it 
was  found  that  hemp  grew  so  well  in  the  Bluegrass  region,  its  growth 
was  discontinued  in  the  Eastern  States,  and  from  1840  to  1870  prac- 
tically all  of  the  hemp  produced  in  the  United  States  was  grown  in 
Kentucky.  In  pioneer  days  hemp  fiber  was  used  for  the  homespun 
cloth  woven  by  the  wives  and  daughters  of  early  settlers.  Soon  the 
fiber  was  used  in  making  rope,  twine,  and  sacking,  particularly  to  bind 
cotton  bales;  in  the  War  of  1812  rigging  and  even  cables  were  made  of 
it  for  Perry's  fleet  on  Lake  Erie.  A  lively  export  trade,  in  addition  to 
the  healthy  domestic  demand,  developed,  clearing  through  New  Or- 
leans. As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  protection  demanded  by  hemp 
growers  in  Kentucky  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  the  protective  tariff 
system  in  the  United  States.  The  replacement  of  sailing  vessels  by 
steamships  and  the  free  import  of  various  substitutes  for  hemp  fiber 
caused  rapid  decline  in  hemp  culture  after  1860,  and  the  crop  is  now 
not  commercially  important.  Practically  the  entire  national  supply  of 
hemp  seed  for  fiber  is  now  produced  in  the  narrow  valleys  of  the  Ken- 
tucky River  and  its  tributaries  near  High  Bridge.  The  story  of  hemp 
and  the  significance  of  its  production  to  Kentucky  has  been  fasci- 
natingly described  in  a  novel,  The  Reign  of  Law,  by  James  Lane  Allen. 

Not  only  did  the  early  settlers  know  how  to  grow  tobacco,  they  also 
knew  how  to  make  whisky.  Because  of  its  high  value  in  proportion  to 
bulk  and  the  ready  market  for  it  at  New  Orleans,  whisky  early  became 


AGRICULTURE  53 

a  favored  product  in  the  rye  and  corn  regions  of  Kentucky.  Probably 
the  bulk  of  the  State's  rye  grown  before  1860,  and  a  large  part  of  its 
corn,  were  utilized  in  whisky  making.  Water  from  Kentucky  springs 
and  wells  was  found  to  be  especially  suitable  for  liquor,  and  the  result 
is  that  the  distilling  industry,  in  several  ways,  has  affected  agricultural 
practice.  Distilleries  afforded  a  local  market  for  small  grains,  and  from 
year  to  year  farmers  hoped  to  sell  all  or  part  of  their  grain  to  distil- 
leries at  a  profitable  price.  Thus  the  distilling  industry  tended  to  per- 
petuate the  growing  of  small  grains  in  many  localities  long  after  farmers 
might  have  turned  to  other  crops.  Since  the  repeal  of  prohibition,  dis- 
tilleries have  again  become  consumers  of  local  grain  and  are  also  im- 
portant sources  of  slop  feed  for  beef  cattle  and  hogs. 

Horses  were  used  as  work  stock  in  the  American  Colonies  long  before 
mules.  In  1783,  George  Washington,  believing  that  mules  were  supe- 
rior to  horses  for  work  on  southern  farms,  imported  jacks  from  Europe 
and  sent  them  on  a  stud  tour  of  the  South.  Henry  Clay  was  promi- 
nent in  establishing  and  developing  the  mule  industry  of  Kentucky,  and 
in  1827  and  1829  made  significant  importations  of  jack  stock  from 
Spain.  Until  the  end  of  the  century,  Kentucky  led  in  raising  mules. 
Tennessee  and  Missouri,  also  important  mule-producing  States,  ob- 
tained their  foundation  stock  from  Kentucky. 

Every  American  knows  of  Kentucky  bluegrass  which  thrives  in  pe- 
culiar soil  conditions,  particularly  in  the  Bluegrass  region,  where  the 
soil  contains  phosphorus,  lime,  and  other  minerals  in  such  combination 
as  to  make  the  grass  especially  excellent  food  for  livestock.  As  soon  as 
the  superior  feeding  qualities  of  pastures  in  central  Kentucky  were  rec- 
ognized, the  region  became  the  center  of  light  horse  breeding. 

Exclusive  of  horses,  it  is  estimated  that  $30,000,000  is  invested  in 
Bluegrass  horse  farms  and  improvements;  that  employees  are  paid 
$1,500,000  annually,  and  that  $2,000,000  of  supplies  are  purchased. 
Bluegrass  pastures  contributed  to  the  early  development  of  improved 
breeds  of  beef  cattle.  The  Shorthorn  in  particular  received  attention, 
and  outstanding  specimens,  often  selling  for  thousands  of  dollars,  were 
shipped  to  foreign  countries  as  well  as  to  other  sections  of  the  United 
States.  A  somewhat  similar  improvement  developed  in  sheep  breed- 
ing, particularly  with  the  Southdown  and  Cheviot  breeds.  The  Blue- 
grass  specializes  in  furnishing  quality  spring  lambs  for  early  market- 
ing; these  command  a  high  price,  since  competition  for  them  is  keen. 

Dairying,  during  the  past  decade,  has  grown  almost  phenomenally 
in  Kentucky.  Though  there  has  been  a  national  decrease  in  the  num- 


54  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

ber  of  cows,  the  number  in  Kentucky  has  increased.  Condenseries  have 
been  built  at  several  points,  and  full  advantage  has  been  taken  of  mild, 
open  winters  and  long  grazing  seasons.  Collapse  of  dark-tobacco  prices, 
urban  population  growth,  increasing  appreciation  of  the  value  of  milk 
as  a  food,  and  other  factors  have  contributed  to  the  growth  of  dairy- 
ing. In  several  very  commendable  respects  Kentucky  dairymen  have 
shown  marked  initiative.  Union  was  the  first  county  in  the  United 
States  to  rid  itself  of  scrub  bulls.  A  State-wide  campaign  to  test  and 
weed  out  tubercular  dairy  cows  has  been  so  successful  that  all  the  120 
counties  are  rated  tubercular-free.  A  State  campaign  to  eradicate 
Bang's  disease,  or  contagious  abortion,  among  dairy  cows  is  now  well 
advanced.  The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  actively  co- 
operates in  the  campaign  against  tuberculosis  and  Bang's  disease  by 
partially  reimbursing  farmers  for  cattle  which  have  to  be  killed. 

Corn  is  normally  the  crop  of  greatest  value  grown  in  the  State,  but 
little  is  usually  marketed  as  such,  since  the  bulk  is  fed  to  livestock. 
Hay,  which  is  also  a  high  value  crop,  is  mostly  fed  to  livestock.  Jef- 
ferson County  is  one  of  the  most  important  agricultural  counties,  rank- 
ing with  Aroostook  County,  Maine,  in  the  production  of  potatoes;  it 
leads  all  Kentucky  counties  in  onions  and  onion  sets,  and  is  a  large 
producer  of  orchard  and  small  fruits.  McCracken  County  leads  in  rais-. 
ing  strawberries,  other  small  fruits,  and  peaches;  while  in  Henderson 
and  a  few  other  counties  are  several  large  commercial  apple  and  peach 
orchards. 

Kentucky  leads  in  the  production  of  bluegrass,  orchard  grass,  and 
lespedeza  seed.  Poultry  and  pork  production  are  important,  and  Ken- 
tucky hickory-cured  hams  enjoy  a  reputation  that  is  becoming  nation- 
wide. The  production  of  sorghum  molasses  holds  promise  of  future 
development.  In  northern,  southeastern,  and  selected  areas  of  western 
Kentucky,  honey  is  produced  on  a  commercial  scale.  Some  cotton  and 
sweet  potatoes  are  grown,  chiefly  in  the  Purchase;  and  large  quantities 
of  vegetables  and  truck  crops  are  produced  around  Louisville  and  the 
Kentucky  area  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Kentucky  farmers,  attempting  to  speak  collectively  concerning  agri- 
cultural problems,  have  subscribed  to  a  series  of  farm  movements.  The 
Grange  reached  its  peak  in  Kentucky  in  1875,  at  which  time  there  were 
1,493  granges  with  a  membership  of  52,463.  The  Agricultural  Wheel, 
active  in  Kentucky  in  the  late  eighties  and  early  nineties,  established 
co-operative  stores,  a  co-operative  mill,  and  a  co-operative  tobacco  asso- 
ciation in  Webster  and  Henderson  Counties.  During  the  existence  of 


AGRICULTURE  55 

the  American  Society  of  Equity,  1904-1914,  a  large  percentage  of  the 
tobacco  of  the  State  was  marketed  co-operatively.  Kentucky  farmers 
have  also  participated  in  the  work  of  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  the  Farm- 
ers' Union,  and  the  Burley  Tobacco  Growers  Co-operative  Association, 
which  was  organized  in  1920  but  later  abandoned.  The  Farm  Bureau 
is  organized  in  sixty  counties  with  a  membership,  in  1937,  of  13,500. 

Of  the  total  population  (2,614,589)  in  1930,  almost  70  percent  was 
rural,  and  two-thirds  of  this  number,  or  1,174,232,  were  actually  living 
on  246,499  farms.  Farm  value  of  crops  and  livestock  produced  in  1929 
was  approximately  $275,000,000;  in  1935  gross  income  from  farms  was 
$166,433,000,  including  Government  benefit  payments  of  $7,259,000. 
The  ten  leading  farm  products  are  corn,  tobacco,  dairy  products,  poul- 
try, vegetables  and  truck,  hay,  hogs,  sheep,  beef  cattle,  and  fruit.  Al- 
though statistics  are  not  available,  it  is  probable  that  production  of 
horses  and  mules  should  be  listed  as  one  of  the  ten  most  important 
farm  enterprises. 

Since  its  establishment  in  1885,  the  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station,  co-operatively  maintained  at  Lexington  by  the  State  and 
Federal  Governments,  has  vitally  influenced  the  agricultural  and  rural 
life  of  the  State.  No  valuation  in  dollars  can  be  placed  on  the  worth 
to  farmers  of  improved  agricultural  practices  initiated  upon  recommen- 
dations of  this  agency.  Nor  can  any  estimate  be  made  of  the  addi- 
tional farm  income  resulting  from  improved  varieties  and  breeds  of 
plants  and  animals,  control  and  prevention  of  diseases  of  animals  and 
plants,  eradication  and  control  of  insect  pests,  and  marketing  and  farm 
organization.  All  these  activities  have  been  developed  by  the  experi- 
ment station.  The  increasing  significance  of  this  organization's  work 
is  indicated  by  the  maintenance  of  branch  stations  at  Princeton  and 
Quicksand,  and  five  experimental  fields  at  other  points  in  the  State. 

Farmers  have  become  increasingly  conscious  of  the  need  for  conserva- 
tion. Work  in  this  field  is  carried  on  by  the  State  department  of  agri- 
culture, Smith-Hughes  teachers  of  vocational  agriculture,  various  State 
boards,  commissions,  and  agencies,  and,  lately,  through  the  Agricul- 
tural Adjustment  Administration  and  the  agricultural  conservation  pro- 
gram—the Tennessee  Valley  Authority,  Farm  Security  Administration, 
Civilian  Conservation  Corps,  Farm  Bureau  Federation,  and  other 
bodies. 


TRANSPORTATION 


OWING  largely  to  natural  barriers,  and  partly  to  the  demands  of 
interstate  commerce,  Kentucky's  lines  of  trade  and  communica- 
tion by  land  developed  north  to  south  rather  than  east  to  west. 
Pioneer  Kentucky  lay  in  the  path  of  the  great  migrations  from  Vir- 
ginia and  the  South  to  the  West,  and  commerce  between  Lakes  and 
Gulf  was  borne  along  its  bordering  waterways.  But  mountains  formed 
an  effective  barrier  to  trade  and  transport  eastward. 

For  nearly  a  century,  except  for  the  Wilderness  Road  through  Cum- 
berland Gap,  the  only  transport  route  common  to  the  three  sections  of 
the  State — mountains,  Bluegrass,  and  western  hills  and  downs — was  the 
Ohio  River,  tributaries  of  which  reach  back  into  the  hills.  So  com- 
pletely was  the  eastern  third  of  the  State  cut  off  from  the  central  and 
western  sections  that  within  its  isolation  developed  a  type  of  Ken- 
tuckian  who  was  an  enigma  to  the  lowlanders.  In  the  1890's  and 
1900's  rails  were  laid  into  the  coal  country  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State,  and  many  extensions  of  the  coal-carrying  lines  were  made  there- 
after. In  the  course  of  this  development  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  con- 
nected Ashland  and  Lexington  with  a  branch  line.  But  even  today  the 
only  direct  rail  route  from  Kentucky  to  the  eastern  seaboard  is  that  of 
the  main  line  of  the  C.  &  O.,  which  follows  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  to 
Cincinnati. 

As  motor  highway  transport  has  advanced,  progress  has  been  made 
in  penetrating  the  eastern  section.  Two  U.  S.  highways  now  traverse 
the  area,  and  a  growing  network  of  modern  roads  is  steadily  reducing 
its  former  isolation.  Transportation  in  its  motorized  form  is  making 
Kentucky  a  homogeneous  State. 

Waterways  and  trails,  naturally,  were  the  first  travel  routes.  The 
southern  section  of  the  trail,  or  trace,  from  Maysville  to  Cumberland 
Gap  was  the  route  by  which  most  early  white  settlers  entered  the 
present  State  of  Kentucky.  Known  in  pioneer  days  as  the  Wilderness 
Road,  this  section  today  forms  part  of  US  25E,  extending  southeast 

56 


IV.  INDUSTRY:  TRANSPORTATION 


WATER  FRONT,  LOUISVILLE 


COAL  MINER 


I 


MODERN   COLLIERY 


II 


STRIP  MINING 


COAL  MINE 


. 


iwtt:  * 


»r 


4>         *     . -^"S 

If" 


r 


11 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER  AT  COLUMBUS 


ALONG  THE  PINEVILLE-HARLAN  ROAD 


DIX  DAM,  HERRINGTON  LAKE 


BARDSTOWN  DISTILLERY 


iff! 


TOBACCO  MARKET 


MULE  DAY 


CHAIR  MAKERS 


TRANSPORTATION  57 

from  Corbin  to  Cumberland  Gap.    North  of  Corbin  the  Federal  high- 
way roughly  follows  the  old  trace  to  Maysville. 

The  waterways  served  well  as  commercial  routes  to  the  West  and 
South,  but  trade  with  the  East  was  developed  laboriously.  Drovers,  in 
the  early  days,  found  it  profitable  to  collect  cattle  and  hogs,  herd  them 
over  the  mountain  routes  to  the  East,  and  return  bearing  supplies  in 
demand  among  Kentucky  settlers. 

The  trails  were  improved  slowly  and  unsatisfactorily,  mostly  through 
the  construction  of  toll  roads  by  private  enterprise.  Maintenance  was 
poor,  and  a  writer  of  the  early  nineteenth  century  was  frank  in  declar- 
ing that  it  was  easier  for  an  immigrant  to  reach  Kansas  from  the  east- 
ern seaboard  than  to  reach  Kentucky.  Nonetheless,  stagecoach  traffic 
had  an  early  beginning.  An  advertisement  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette  of 
August  9,  1803,  announced  that  John  Kennedy  had  started  a  stage  line 
from  Lexington,  Winchester,  and  Mount  Sterling  to  Olympian  Springs, 
a  famed  resort  in  Bath  County. 

Toll  roads  persisted  in  the  State  until  late  in  the  century,  when  users 
began  to  protest  with  threats  and  later  with  organized  raids  to  destroy 
the  tollgates.  "Shun"  pikes,  too,  were  constructed,  over  which  traffic 
might  detour  to  avoid  the  gates. 

Many  migrants  from  Pennsylvania  or  Virginia  found  it  feasible  to 
float  down  the  Ohio  River  to  their  new  homes  at  Limestone  (Mays- 
ville), the  Falls  (Louisville),  Yellowbanks  (Owensboro),  or  other  set- 
tlements. Most  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  State  are  situated  on  the 
Ohio,  partly  as  a  result  of  the  impetus  given  their  growth  when  the 
river  was  the  main  artery  of  trade  and  travel,  and  partly  because  of 
the  natural  advantage  of  their  position  as  centers  of  interstate  traffic 
by  rail,  and  as  markets  and  distribution  points. 

The  Kentucky  boatman  of  the  early  nineteenth  century  belonged  to 
a  distinct  social  class.  Tradition  pictures  him  as  a  robust,  rowdy  brag- 
gart, inured  to  drudgery  and  danger,  and  much  given  to  snorting,  slap- 
ping his  thigh,  and  proclaiming  himself  a  "half-horse,  half-alligator 
man,"  a  "snapping  turtle,"  or  a  "child  of  calamity."  He  was  schooled 
in  disaster,  so  there  was  some  truth  in  the  last  term;  at  one  time  the 
term  "Kentucky  boatman"  had  to  be  pronounced  with  a  smile  if  no 
hard  feelings  were  implied. 

The  flatboats,  keelboats,  and  "broadhorns"  used  in  the  river  trade 
gradually  gave  place  to  the  steamboat,  which  first  stirred  western  waters 
in  1811.  Within  a  few  decades  the  steamboats  dominated  as  cargo  car- 
riers as  well  as  passenger  carriers  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi;  and 


58  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

broadhorns,  flatboats,  and  rafts  appeared  for  the  most  part  at  floodtime, 
when  back-country  folk  took  advantage  of  the  freshets  to  float  crops  or 
lumber  to  market  on  craft  of  their  own  making. 

One  of  the  earliest  railroads  west  of  the  Alleghenies  was  the  Lex- 
ington &  Ohio,  now  part  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad.  It 
was  chartered  January  27,  1830,  and  was  opened  for  traffic  August  15, 
1832.  At  its  opening,  it  was  a  line  six  miles  long,  extending  from 
Lexington  to  Frankfort,  with  rolling  stock  hauled  by  horses;  a  terminus 
on  the  Ohio  had  purposely  been  left  unsettled.  It  was  1851  before  the 
L.  &  O.  reached  the  river,  and  by  that  time  it  had  undergone  sev- 
eral reorganizations.  However,  it  initiated  railroad  construction  in 
Kentucky. 

On  March  5,  1850,  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad  secured  a 
charter  for  a  route  between  the  cities  designated  in  its  corporate  name. 
The  first  train  over  the  route  ran  on  November  1,  1859.  The  line 
proved  extremely  useful  to  the  Federal  forces  during  the  War  between 
the  States. 

Following  the  war,  railroads  became  an  obsession  with  numbers  of 
Kentucky  towns.  Some  of  the  lines  built  in  the  flush  of  railroad  fever 
have  been  abandoned  and  their  names  forgotten.  Others,  planned  to 
serve  a  functional  need,  have  endured  either  as  independent  lines  or 
as  links  or  branches  of  larger  systems.  Today  the  Lexington  &  Big 
Sandy  forms  part  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio,  and  several  short  lines 
operate  as  part  of  the  L.  &  N. 

Unusual  in  character  among  railroads  is  the  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans 
&  Texas  Pacific  Railway,  constructed  and  owned  by  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.  Chartered  in  1871,  by  1881  it  had  constructed  340  miles 
of  track  connecting  Cincinnati  with  Chattanooga,  extending  through 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  At  present  it  is  operated  under  lease  by  the 
Southern  Railway  System. 

A  glance  at  a  railroad  map  of  Kentucky  shows  that  most  of  the  major 
transportation  systems  in  Kentucky  touch  it  only  along  the  Ohio  River. 
Further  examination  reveals,  however,  that  the  State  is  quite  adequately 
served,  except  for  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  south  central  sec- 
tion, by  the  systems  named  above,  together  with  the  Illinois  Central 
and  a  number  of  smaller  lines.  Although  some  counties  are  completely 
without  rail  facilities,  the  railroad  and  the  motor  bus  in  combination 
leave  few  areas  without  modern  transport  of  some  kind.  There  are 
today  in  Kentucky  approximately  3,821  miles  of  track,  owned  or  oper- 
ated by  more  than  twenty  railroads.  Of  this  mileage  all  but  about  165 
miles  is  either  owned  or  operated  by  class  1  railroads. 


TRANSPORTATION  59 

Electric  railroads,  or  interurbans,  as  they  were  more  generally  called, 
enjoyed  a  brief  prosperity  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 
With  the  exception  of  the  electric  lines  connecting  Louisville  and  New 
Albany,  Indiana,  and  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  its  sister  cities  of  northern 
Kentucky  included  in  the  Greater  Cincinnati  area,  there  are  no  inter- 
urbans in  Kentucky  today.  The  appearance  of  the  private  automobile 
foreshadowed  their  end,  the  motor  bus  made  it  certain,  and  the  depres- 
sion delivered  the  final  blow. 

As  the  railroads  gradually  evolved  into  the  present-day  efficient  car- 
riers of  freight  and  passengers,  river  traffic  languished.  Passenger 
travel  by  river  has  almost  entirely  disappeared,  although  some  excur- 
sion boats  are  still  operated.  Volume-freight  traffic  on  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  is  gaining,  however,  under  the  program  being  carried  out  by 
the  Corps  of  Army  Engineers  and  the  Inland  Waterways  Corporation, 
operating  the  Federal  Barge  Lines. 

The  introduction  of  the  automobile  intensified,  in  Kentucky  as  else- 
where, the  demand  for  better  roads.  The  constitution  adopted  in  1890 
had  prohibited  the  State  from  expending  funds  on  highways,  but  this 
provision  was  removed  in  1909.  In  1912  a  State  highway  commission 
was  created,  and  in  1914  the  legislature  authorized  a  system  of  roads 
connecting  county  seats.  This  act  was  modified  in  1920  by  an  act  pro- 
viding for  a  primary  system  of  State  highways  aggregating  4,000  miles. 
There  are  now  (1939)  62,633  miles  of  roads  within  the  State.  Ap- 
proximately 500  miles  of  improved  roads  are  being  added  annually  by 
the  State  highway  commission,  in  addition  to  improved  mileage  added 
by  the  various  counties. 

Since  1920  improved  highways  have  encouraged  the  growth  of  a  net- 
work of  bus  lines  that  covers  the  entire  State.  Interstate  buses  are 
well  designed  and  equipped,  and  local  buses  are  becoming  more  com- 
fortable and  modern.  The  largest  bus  center  in  Kentucky  is  Lexington, 
which  is  the  hub  of  a  system  of  fine  highways  in  all  directions,  over 
which  local  and  interstate  coaches  carry  hundreds  of  passengers  daily. 

Air  travel  in  Kentucky  is  still  in  the  embryonic  stage  of  development. 
The  only  important  commercial  airport  in  Kentucky  is  Bowman  Field, 
in  Louisville,  used  by  American  Airlines  and  Eastern  Airlines.  It  is  an 
important  stop  on  the  American  Airlines  route  from  Cleveland  to  Los 
Angeles,  by  way  of  Louisville,  Nashville,  Dallas,  and  Fort  Worth;  and 
on  the  Eastern  Airlines  route  from  Chicago  to  Miami,  by  way  of  In- 
dianapolis, Louisville,  and  Jacksonville.  Many  municipalities  maintain 
airports  for  local  air  traffic,  chiefly  of  the  air  taxi  type. 


MANUFACTURING  AND 
MINING 


KENTUCKY'S  industries  are  widely  distributed.  Much  the  greater 
part  of  the  State's  factory  output  issues  from  the  towns  along  the 
Ohio  River  but  both  eastern  and  western  Kentucky  are  rich  in  minerals, 
though  the  east  far  outyields  the  west  in  tonnage.  Yet  Kentucky  is 
rightly  regarded  as  being  primarily  an  agricultural  State.  The  value 
of  factory  and  mine  products  is  nearly  three  times  that  of  crops  and 
livestock,  but,  according  to  the  U.  S.  Census  of  1930,  more  than  340,000 
Kentuckians  were  gainfully  employed  on  farms,  while  about  203,000 
were  gainfully  employed  in  mines,  shops,  and  factories.  Interest  in 
agriculture  is  strong  even  in  the  State's  industrial  centers ;  and  the  Ken- 
tuckian  becomes  more  excited  over  a  killing  frost  or  a  rainy  spring 
than  over  Dow- Jones  averages  or  the  Bedeaux  system,  and  takes  more 
interest  in  thoroughbred  foals  than  in  the  latest  model  punch  press. 
Something  of  the  native  temperament  seems  to  have  found  expression 
in  Kentucky's  favorite  industries,  for  the  Bluegrass  State  is  most  popu- 
larly known  as  a  producer  of  fine  rye  and  bourbon  whiskies,  and  of 
rich,  sweet  smoking  and  chewing  tobacco.  In  quantity  of  whisky  pro- 
duced it  leads  the  Nation,  and  in  tobacco  it  is  outranked  by  only  two 
States. 

Colonization  of  Kentucky  involved  transplanting  not  merely  people 
but  an  economy  capable  of  serving  community  life.  Men  of  numerous 
trades,  professions,  and  businesses  joined  the  rush  to  the  West,  bring- 
ing with  them  their  tools  and  experience. 

Isolated  from  markets  and  sources  of  supply,  Kentucky  was  not  slow 
in  putting  to  use  the  abilities  of  its  pioneer  craftsmen.  Activities  essen- 
tial to  life  in  the  new  settlements  developed  with  the  clearing  of  the 
land.  Salt-making,  tanning,  gristmill  construction,  gunpowder  manu- 
facture, lead  molding,  iron  smelting,  and  the  production  of  nails,  rope, 
linen,  woolen  cloth,  and  paper  were  among  the  early  industries.  The 
trade  in  furs,  first  product  of  the  region,  expanded  into  an  exchange  and 

60 


MANUFACTURING    AND    MINING  6l 

export  business  that  warranted  highways  across  the  mountains,  and  that 
became  a  potent  argument  in  favor  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  and  the 
opening  of  the  Mississippi. 

Tools  and  equipment  for  replacement  had  either  to  be  made  on  the 
spot,  in  the  early  days,  or  packed  in  over  long,  difficult  trails.  This 
accounts  for  the  early  development  of  smelting  and  forging,  antedating 
by  nearly  a  century  the  rise  of  the  State's  present  steel  industry.  In 
the  1800's  Lexington  was  a  thriving  industrial  town  with  58  manufac- 
turing establishments  representing  13  industries.  Twelve  of  the  plants 
were  cotton  mills,  four  were  hat  factories,  and  four  were  carriage  works. 
The  difficulty  of  transporting  unprocessed  grain  to  market  was  an  incen- 
tive to  distilling.  Georgetown  had  a  distillery  as  early  as  1789,  and  in 
1810  two  thousand  stills  were  operating  in  the  State.  By  that  time 
Kentucky  also  had  nine  linseed  oil  mills,  63  gunpowder  plants,  and  267 
tanneries.  Small  enterprises  and  trade  limited  to  the  immediate  locality 
were  the  rule,  but  every  town  was  eager  to  outdo  the  rest.  Among  the 
aspiring  commercial  and  industrial  centers  Lexington  early  established 
its  leadership. 

Rapid  settlement  created  a  demand  for  manufactures  that  for  a  time 
ran  ahead  of  production,  and  this  stimulated  plant  expansion  to  a  point 
where  surpluses  became  a  plague.  The  clamor  for  free  navigation  of 
the  lower  Mississippi  grew  stronger.  In  1803  the  United  States  pur- 
chased the  Louisiana  Territory.  The  opening  of  the  river  sent  an  in- 
creased flow  of  goods  toward  New  Orleans,  and  loosed  forces  which  in 
time  were  to  disrupt  and  reorganize  the  economy  of  the  Republic. 
When,  in  the  second  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  first  steam- 
boat appeared  on  western  waters,  the  Ohio's  importance  as  an  artery 
of  commerce  was  vastly  increased.  The  river  towns  began  to  flourish 
as  centers  of  manufacture  and  trade  after  1820,  and  inland  towns 
correspondingly  declined.  The  Bluegrass,  forced  to  move  its  goods 
over  highways,  could  not  compete  with  the  river  towns,  with  navigable 
waters  for  heavy  freight  transportation  at  their  doors.  Louisville,  at 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  prospered  as  the  transshipping  point  for  cargoes 
from  both  up  and  down  the  river,  and  had  the  added  advantage  of 
cheap  power  from  the  falls. 

Hemp,  cotton,  woolen,  and  linen  mills  prospered  in  early  times. 
Even  in  the  1860's  American  sailing  ships  were  equipped  with  rope 
from  the  Bluegrass,  and  Great  Lakes  schooners  provided  a  market  for 
a  considerable  time  after.  The  great  cause  of  decline  in  the  State's 
hemp  industry  was  the  replacement  of  sailing  ships  with  steamships  in 


62  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

the  final  decades  of  the  century,  and  the  decline  was  accelerated  when, 
after  the  war  with  Spain,  sisal  and  other  fibers  were  placed  on  the  free 
list  of  imports.  A  single  hemp  factory  continued  to  operate  at  Frank- 
fort as  late  as  1937.  Cotton,  woolen,  and  linen  factories  underwent  a 
similar  decline. 

The  extension  of  railroad  lines  into  the  interior  of  the  State  in  the 
final  half  of  the  century  stimulated  lumbering,  mining,  and  manufacture 
in  some  of  the  more  retarded  areas;  but  elsewhere  they  failed  to  stimu- 
late the  expansion  of  established  industries  or  promote  the  development 
of  new  ones.  Mainly,  the  railroad  strengthened  the  dominant  economic 
position  of  the  best-situated  river  towns.  One  by  one  the  small  fac- 
tories of  the  interior  towns  moved  or  ceased  operation.  Today  only  a 
few  remain.  Portable  lumber  mills  now  work  the  cut-over  lands  for 
stock  for  barrel  staves  and  similar  special  forms.  Industries  in  which 
proximity  to  raw  supplies  is  important,  like  quarrying,  brick  and  tile 
making,  and  mining,  are  represented  by  plants  here  and  there. 

The  few  small  factories  surviving  in  the  interior  have  profited,  like 
the  local  merchant,  from  improved  highways  and  motor-truck  transpor- 
tation. The  motor  truck  has  made  it  practicable  for  manufacturing 
plants  in  large  industrial  centers  to  maintain  branch  supply  houses  at 
well-chosen  points  in  the  interior,  through  which  local  dealers  may  be 
restocked  frequently  with  goods  in  quantities  suited  to  their  needs.  At 
the  same  time  the  motor  truck  has  enabled  the  local  manufacturer 
greatly  to  extend  his  market  area.  Livestock,  tobacco,  horticultural 
and  dairy  products,  and  a  variety  of  other  local  commodities  now  find 
their  way  to  market  by  highway. 

The  concentration  of  large-scale  industries  along  the  Ohio  makes  the 
economic  map  of  the  State  a  wide  agricultural  zone,  with  an  industrial 
fringe  along  its  northern  border.  The  State's  tobacco  crop  is  processed 
in  major  part  in  the  factories  at  Louisville,  and  this  city  also  produces 
the  bulk  of  Kentucky's  whiskies.  A  number  of  distilleries,  however, 
making  brands  that  have  been  established  in  the  market  for  many 
years,  continue  to  operate  at  their  original  locations  in  the  Bluegrass 
and  Pennyrile,  and  west  as  far  as  Owensboro. 

Most  Ohio  River  towns  prospered  during  the  War  between  the  States 
as  supply  centers  for  the  armies  of  the  North;  this  was  especially  true 
of  Louisville  and  Covington.  The  railroads  brought  prosperity  mainly 
to  the  already  flourishing  river  cities,  which  became  division  terminals 
and  distribution  and  transshipment  points  because  of  the  natural  ad- 
vantages of  their  locations.  Kentucky  capitalists  chose  to  invest  in 


MANUFACTURING    AND    MINING  63 

further  development  of  their  home  territory,  and  this  tendency  still 
persists,  serving  in  a  degree  to  stimulate  legitimate  industry  and  re- 
strain wildcat  speculation.  The  results  of  this  policy  are  evident  today 
in  the  wide  variety  of  the  small-scale  industries  in  the  river  towns. 
Cabinet  making,  organ  building,  shoe  production,  and  the  manufacture 
of  wire  cloth  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  industrial  activities  of  the 
valley.  Often  the  plants  were  started  as  small  shops  by  craftsmen  who 
landed  from  river  boats  in  the  1830's  or  1840's  with  little  baggage 
except  the  tools  of  their  trades. 

Following  the  War  between  the  States  Louisville  became  Kentucky's 
leading  industrial  city,  and  first  among  cities  east  of  the  Mississippi 
and  south  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  Line  in  volume  and  total  of  manu- 
factured products  and  wages.  Ashland  and  Newport  have  become 
minor  centers  of  steel  manufacture.  Covington's  industrial  pattern  is 
characterized  by  variety.  Owensboro  and  Henderson,  distribution  cen- 
ters for  the  western  Kentucky  coal  fields,  have  developed  extensive 
marketing  connections  for  their  agricultural  and  horticultural  products 
as  well  as  for  their  manufactured  specialties,  which  include  textiles  and 
electrical  supplies.  Paducah,  like  Louisville,  a  rail-terminal  town,  is 
known  chiefly  for  its  locomotive  repair  shops  and  as  a  river-boat  con- 
struction center. 

Kentucky's  manufacturing  establishments  in  1933  numbered  about 
1,700.  Wages  paid  totaled  about  $62,000,000,  and  the  value  of  product 
was  about  $500,000,000.  Approximately  three-fifths  of  the  output  by 
value  issued  from  Louisville.  In  all,  about  70,000  wage  earners  were 
employed. 

Kentucky's  liquor  distilleries  in  1935  produced  about  197,000,000 
gallons  of  spirits,  mainly  bourbon,  corn,  and  rye  whiskies,  with  a  value 
of  approximately  $60,000,000.  Total  wages  to  7,500  distillery  workers 
were  $4,825,806;  more  than  $11,000,000  was  spent  for  grain  supplies; 
and  the  bill  for  cooperage  was  more  than  $4,500,000.  The  industry 
maintains  a  stock  of  between  four  hundred  million  and  five  hundred 
million  gallons  in  process  of  aging,  representing  an  investment  of 
$150,000,000.  The  State's  57  active  bonded  distilleries  produced  43 
percent  of  the  Nation's  distilled  liquor  output  in  the  fiscal  year  1937. 

Kentucky's  tobacco  industry,  first  in  dollars-and-cents  importance  in 
the  State's  economy,  processed  343,865,000  pounds  of  leaf,  grown 
mainly  in  the  central,  southern,  and  western  sections,  in  1937.  Of  this 
total,  about  270,000,000  pounds  were  burley — which  forms  the  bulk  of 
the  average  American  cigarette — and  55,000,000  pounds  were  dark  to- 


64  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

bacco,  used  in  cigars,  pipe  and  chewing  tobaccos,  and  snuff.  The  value 
of  the  crop  to  the  producers  was  $64,990,000. 

Considerable  quantities  of  Kentucky's  dark  tobacco  are  exported. 
Cigarette  production  in  the  State  was  11,742,614,000  in  1937 — an  in- 
crease of  140,000,000  over  that  of  1936.  This  placed  the  State  third 
in  cigarette  output.  It  is  first  in  burley  production  and  third  in  pro- 
duction of  processed  tobacco. 

Meat  packing  in  Kentucky  centers  around  the  Bourbon  Stock  Yards 
in  Louisville.  In  this  industry  Kentucky  leads  the  southeastern  area 
of  the  Nation.  Livestock  and  other  raw  supplies  valued  at  more  than 
$13,000,000  were  processed  in  Kentucky  packing  plants  in  1935.  Flour 
and  grain  processing,  railroad  rolling-stock  repair,  petroleum  refining, 
and  bread  making  are  other  major  industrial  activities  in  Kentucky, 
and  more  than  sixty  other  industries  contribute  to  the  total  annual 
product  value  of  $300,000,000  to  $500,000,000. 

Kentucky's  mineral  production  is  at  present  confined  to  coal,  petro- 
leum, natural  gas,  fluorspar,  limestone,  rock .  asphalt,  and  a  number  of 
minor  substances  like  the  finer  plastic  and  refractory  clays  and  clays 
commonly  utilized  in  tile  making. 

In  earlier  times  a  number  of  other  minerals  were  produced  locally 
which  are  now  supplied  from  more  economical  sources  outside  the  State. 
Early  settlers  in  the  Kentucky  area  obtained  their  salt  from  the  licks 
frequented  by  deer,  boiling  the  water  from  the  salt  springs  until  only 
the  solid  content  was  left.  In  Mammoth  Cave  and  elsewhere  deposits 
of  saltpeter  were  processed  for  gunpowder  by  leaching.  Lead  was  found 
in  quantities  sufficient  for  local  purposes,  and  iron  ore  of  good  quality 
was  mined  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  Commercial  iron  mining 
was  carried  on  near  Ashland  as  late  as  the  1870's. 

Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  coal  began  to  be  mined  in  the  moun- 
tains and  shipped  by  barge  to  Lexington,  Louisville,  and  other  towns 
for  use  in  both  forging  and  heating.  The  western  fields  early  developed 
a  trade  in  coal  with  New  Orleans.  Limestone  from  cliffs  along  the 
Kentucky  River — "Kentucky  marble" — was  used  to  construct  both 
public  and  private  buildings;  the  old  capitol  at  Frankfort  exhibits  the 
natural  beauty  of  this  stone.  Plastic  clays  found  in  scattered  deposits 
in  central  and  eastern  Kentucky  provided  the  settlers  with  material  for 
earthenware,  and  brick  and  tile  clays  found  everywhere  in  the  State 
served  for  the  construction  of  many  homes. 

Modern  coal  mining  began  to  develop  in  the  1870's,  when  a  blast 
furnace  was  blown  in  at  Ashland,  now  important  for  iron  and  steel, 


MANUFACTURING    AND    MINING  65 

using  ore  and  fuel  of  local  origin.  Cheaper  ores  from  Missouri  and 
later  from  the  Mesabi  Range  in  Minnesota  made  iron  mining  uneco- 
nomical in  Kentucky,  but  coal  mining  in  the  Big  Sandy  Valley  devel- 
oped steadily.  Coal  mines  in  both  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of  the 
State  found  a  market  in  the  growing  industries  along  the  Ohio.  Rail 
connections  with  Great  Lakes  ports  later  widened  the  market  for  Ken- 
tucky coal. 

Mining  operations  in  the  later  industrial  period  were  at  first  carried 
on  in  the  crude  style  traditional  of  development  by  individuals  of  lim- 
ited means.  Farmers  or  lessees  opened  small  tunnels,  leaving  pillars  of 
coal  for  supports  to  save  the  expense  of  timbering.  Coal  was  hauled 
by  wagon  to  the  barges.  But  gradually  the  railroads  penetrated  the 
mountainous  coal  country,  and  after  1900  coal  mining  became  a  big- 
capital  industry  (see  Labor). 

Coal  production  in  Kentucky  rose  from  169,000  tons  in  1870  to  an 
average  of  more  than  30,000,000  tons  between  1916  and  1920,  mainly 
because  of  expanding  markets  and  rail  transportation.  Production  in 
the  eastern  fields  mounted  to  more  than  60,000,000  in  1929,  and 
dropped  to  35,000,000  tons  at  the  low  point  of  the  depression  starting 
in  1930.  In  1936  production  had  risen  to  an  estimated  47,570,000 
tons,  with  a  value  at  the  mine  mouth  of  $65,956,000.  One-ninth  of 
this  total  tonnage  is  utilized  for  coke  production,  mostly  outside  the 
State. 

Kentucky  petroleum  production  was  5,628,000  barrels  in  1936,  with 
a  value  of  $6,000,000.  The  value  of  natural  gas  produced  was 
$17,730,000  at  the  point  of  consumption. 

The  output  of  fluorspar,  from  which  fluorite — necessary  in  modern 
steel  manufacture — is  obtained,  is  about  80,000  short  tons  a  year.  This 
is  about  half  the  national  total.  Total  annual  production  of  Kentucky 
minerals,  by  value,  is  about  $100,000,000. 


LABOR 


KENTUCKY  labor,  both  white  and  Negro,  has  always  been  almost 
wholly  native  born.    Its  development  has  been  essentially  rural 
and  ties  in  closely  with  lumbering  and  river  transportation. 

In  early  times,  settlers  from  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Maryland 
dominated  the  Bluegrass  and  the  Pennyrile.  Many  of  their  slaves  were 
skilled  craftsmen,  who  worked,  when  not  employed  at  home,  for  people 
who  paid  their  masters  for  their  services.  Thus  they  were  a  source  of 
income  to  their  owners,  and  as  such  were  assured  a  degree  of  security 
against  sale. 

Coincidentally,  the  use  of  white  labor  was  developing.  Many  early 
settlers,  especially  those  from  Pennsylvania  and  other  Northern  States, 
took  up  land  in  the  mountains,  where  slavery  was  impracticable.  Re- 
stricted by  nature  in  its  agricultural  development,  the  mountain  area 
soon  had  an  excess  of  white  labor  that  migrated  to  the  lowlands  and 
competed  there  with  the  labor  of  slaves,  which  was  never  sufficient  to 
meet  the  demand.  In  earlier  times  white  labor  was  largely  engaged  in 
logging  in  the  great  river  valleys,  and  in  clearing  and  farming  the  cut- 
over  lands.  The  two  processes  went  hand  in  hand;  and  the  disappear- 
ance of  marketable  timber  left  a  surplus  of  white  laborers  who,  when 
they  did  not  settle  down  to  farming,  either  " followed  the  timber"  or 
migrated  to  other  parts  of  the  State.  Such  was  the  general  situation 
after  the  War  between  the  States,  when  coal  mining,  oil  production, 
and  other  industries  widened  the  field  of  labor  and  extended  it  through- 
out Kentucky. 

Of  great  importance  in  the  developing  labor  situation  was  the  early 
rise  and  subsequent  decline  of  industrial  centers.  Lexington,  a  thriving 
manufacturing  center  in  the  1800's,  was  plagued  with  piled-up  surpluses 
and  a  lack  of  outlets.  The  decline  of  the  city's  manufacturing,  which 
began  about  1825,  is  illustrative  of  a  process  then  taking  place  through- 
out the  State:  small  community  industries  were  being  relocated  at 
places  convenient  for  land-and-water  transfer,  and  in  such  places  a 
population  was  growing  which  was  essentially  urban  in  outlook. 

66 


LABOR  67 

With  the  development  of  the  Ohio  River  as  a  major  artery  of  com- 
merce between  the  Ohio  Valley  States  and  the  West  and  South, 
trading  and  industrial  river  ports  grew  up  in  which  the  older  Kentucky 
tradition  had  little  part.  The  Middle  East  and  the  South  fought  for 
Kentucky's  developing  trade,  and  for  a  time  the  South  prevailed.  But 
between  1830  and  1860  the  Middle  East,  by  weight  of  numbers,  in- 
creased its  influence  and  won  out.  Migrants  pouring  down  the  Ohio 
settled  in  the  river  towns,  and  to  their  northern  traditions  were  added 
the  traditions  of  craftsmen  who  emigrated  from  Germany  in  large  num- 
bers after  the  Revolution  of  1848. 

The  labor  traditions  of  Covington,  Newport,  Louisville,  Paducah,  and 
other  river  towns  are  largely  of  such  derivation.  The  late-comers — first 
as  journeymen,  later  as  the  owners  of  shops — set  the  pattern  of  labor 
conditions  that  prevailed  up  to  the  time  of  the  War  between  the  States. 
Long  hours  were  the  rule.  Most  workmen  supplied  their  own  tools. 
Employers  furnished  space  and  materials  and  found  a  market  for  the 
goods.  Wages,  affected  in  many  cases  by  slave  competition,  were  low, 
but  the  prospect  of  a  worker's  becoming  head  of  his  own  shop  tended 
to  head  off  union  agitation. 

The  pre-war  record  of  labor  unionism  is  short  and  vague.  In  the 
1830's  seven  trade  unions  were  in  existence  in  Louisville.  The  tailors 
organized  in  1835.  Sometime  in  the  1850's  the  carpenters  of  Hopkins- 
ville  formed  a  union  along  co-operative  lines,  and  those  at  Ashland 
and  Paducah  followed  suit.  There  is  no  further  record  of  union  activi- 
ties until  after  the  war.  Out  of  the  chaos  of  the  War  between  the 
States  rose  the  unionism  of  modern  times. 

Disbandment  of  the  armies  sent  masses  of  men  into  the  labor  market 
to  seek  work.  Kentucky  had  its  full  quota,  and  in  addition  had  the 
problem  of  employing  the  masses  of  freed  Negroes. 

Many  Negroes  collected  in  Louisville  and  other  industrial  towns, 
competed  for  jobs,  and  by  their  numbers  depressed  wages.  They  found 
work  in  semiskilled  pursuits,  or  served  as  doormen,  porters,  cleaners, 
servants,  hotel  attendants,  and  the  like.  In  more  recent  times  the 
Negro's  field  of  occupation  has  widened,  and  there  are  Negroes  today 
who  own  small  industries  or  are  members  of  the  professions.  But  the 
problems  of  Negro  employment,  housing,  and  wages  in  the  main  are 
still  unsolved. 

The  war  was  followed  by  the  decline  of  the  hemp  industry,  which 
formerly  had  given  off-season  work  in  the  mills  to  farm  labor.  The 
slack  in  employment  was  taken  up  by  an  expansion  of  tobacco  growing, 


68  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

a  development  that  entailed  an  expansion  in  curing,  warehousing,  and 
marketing.  White  and  Negro  labor  was  attracted  to  the  tobacco  cen- 
ters, where  it  found  quarters  in  the  low-rent  areas,  worked  in  the  ware- 
house in  the  fall  and  winter,  and  hired  out  in  the  growing  season  to 
planters  who  collected  and  delivered  their  daily  quota  of  field  hands. 
The  pattern  is  the  same  today.  Their  gregarious  habits  of  living  and 
working  have  resulted  in  little  or  no  movement  to  organize  on  the  part 
of  the  farm  laborers,  who  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  working  popu- 
lation of  the  State.  The  total  farm  population  in  Kentucky  is 
1,307,816,  according  to  the  Statistical  Abstract  of  the  United  States 
for  1936;  persons  classified  as  family  labor  number  414,222,  and  those 
classified  as  hired  help  number  36,915.  Many  farmers  belong  to  co- 
operative organizations,  but  there  is  little  if  any  organization  among 
farm  workers,  Negro  or  white. 

The  movement  toward  labor  unionism  in  Kentucky,  feebly  defined  at 
best,  disappeared  during  the  war  period  1861-65.  In  the  war  years 
labor  was  in  demand,  wages  were  high,  and  betterment  through  co- 
operative effort,  the  working  principle  of  the  early  unions,  lost  its  ap- 
peal. It  took  a  depression — that  of  the  1870's — to  bring  to  life  the 
idea  of  group  action  among  the  workers.  The  Kentucky  union  move- 
ment took  form  in  local  craft  unions,  the  aim  of  which  was  mutual 
self-help  for  the  immediate  benefit  of  workers  and  their  families.  At 
first  the  unions  of  the  1870's  gave  no  special  emphasis  to  collective  bar- 
gaining, but  tried  instead  to  resume  action  on  co-operative  lines.  Efforts 
were  made  to  provide  employment  for  jobless  workers  by  co-operative 
means,  and  the  Knights  of  Labor  established  stores  (in  1880)  and  at 
least  one  tobacco  company  (at  Earlington),  the  profits  of  which  were 
divided  equally  among  capital,  labor  (the  laborer  usually  supplied  the 
capital  by  stock  purchases),  and  the  Knights  of  Labor  (as  the  promot- 
ing and  fostering  organization).  Failure  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  to 
live  up  to  its  promise  as  an  instrument  for  bettering  conditions  resulted 
after  1886  in  loss  of  membership,  and  it  disappeared  from  the  scene. 
The  American  Federation  of  Labor  then  came  to  the  fore,  with  a  pro- 
gram of  better  working  conditions,  shorter  hours,  and  fair  wages;  most 
local  unions,  whether  affiliated  with  the  Federation  or  not,  followed  the 
same  line. 

Most  labor  disputes  during  this  period  hinged  on  wages,  but  union 
recognition  grew  in  importance  as  an  objective.  Employers'  associa- 
tions were  forming  and  growing,  and  the  fight  against  unionism  was 
carried  on  ruthlessly.  According  to  A.  E.  Suffern,  during  a  coal  strike 


LABOR  69 

starting  in  November  1900,  in  Hopkins  County,  operators  secured  an 
injunction  forbidding  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America  to  supply 
strikers  with  food. 

The  change  in  union  aims,  noted  above,  was  made  in  response  to 
technological  and  organizational  changes  in  industry  out  of  which  de- 
veloped the  present  industrial  order. 

After  the  southward  expansion  from  the  Ohio  River  of  railroads  con- 
necting the  Deep  South  with  the  North,  the  river  towns,  notably  Louis- 
ville, Covington,  and  Paducah,  became  centers  of  labor  unionization 
activity.  A  wage  cut  early  in  the  summer  of  1877  provoked  a  railroad 
strike,  in  which  demonstrations  were  suppressed  by  police  action.  The 
strike,  which  coincided  in  time  with  others  throughout  the  Nation,  was 
apparently  under  local  leadership  and  was  fought  out  over  issues  in- 
volved in  the  relations  between  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad 
and  its  employees.  Other  strikes,  local  in  significance  and  effect,  at 
times  have  interrupted  the  generally  amicable  relations  of  labor  and 
capital,  but  persuasion  and  appeal  to  reason  have  often  ended  a  dispute 
peaceably. 

The  period  of  industrial  expansion  ending  with  American  entry  into 
the  World  War  was  marked  by  the  passage  of  laws  fostered  by  the 
unions.  Among  these  laws  were  measures  widening  the  field  and  limit- 
ing the  hours  of  women's  labor,  specifying  the  industries  and  limiting 
the  hours  of  labor  for  minors,  and  providing  protection  for  workers  in 
hazardous  occupations  and  compensation  for  workers  injured  in  the  line 
of  duty.  The  influence  of  the  unions  has  continued  to  grow,  but  the 
State  as  a  whole  is  far  from  unionized,  largely  because  of  the  peculiar 
characteristics  of  many  of  its  industries,  chief  among  which  is  the  pro- 
duction of  tobacco.  Besides  this  deterrent  factor,  the  tradition  of  self- 
sufficiency  operates  outside  the  Ohio  River  towns  against  active  labor 
organization  based  on  current  union  conceptions  of  the  relation  between 
capital  and  labor. 

Especially  striking  has  been  the  expansion  of  Kentucky's  coal  indus- 
try. The  State's  coal  production  in  1870  was  only  169,000  tons;  in 
1900  it  reached  5,182,000  short  tons.  Coal  mining  gave  work  to  men 
of  the  mountain  areas,  where  lumbering  had  become  a  minor  industry 
and  where  farming,  above  the  subsistence  level,  was  difficult.  But  until 
the  end  of  the  century  the  mines  were  small,  individually  owned,  and 
manned  by  local  labor.  Many  operators  worked  side  by  side  with  their 
men. 

After  1900  mining  rapidly  became  mechanized,  especially  in  the  east- 


7o  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

ern  part  of  the  State.  Railroad  branches  were  built  into  the  coal  coun- 
try and  large  capital  investments  and  corporate  ownership  became  the 
rule. 

Shortly  after  the  World  War,  with  living  costs  increasing,  the  workers 
in  Kentucky,  as  elsewhere,  began  to  organize  for  higher  wages.  Wage 
strikes  of  steel  workers  in  Newport  and  of  coal  miners  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State  during  the  1920's,  and  the  bitterness  engendered  by 
the  struggles,  are  still  remembered  in  those  areas.  In  the  steel  industry 
the  Amalgamated  Association  of  Iron,  Steel  and  Tin  Workers  did  little 
more  than  collect  dues.  If  union  men  displayed  militancy,  as  they  did 
in  Newport  when  the  militia  appeared  with  a  tank  and  enforced  a  cur- 
few law,  that  was  their  own  affair.  The  Newport  Rolling  Mill  Com- 
pany (since  absorbed  by  Armco)  and  the  Andrews  Steel  Company 
drove  the  unions  from  their  mills,  membership  dropped,  and  many 
locals  ceased  to  exist.  Events  in  Harlan  County  since  1931  emphasize 
a  condition  unlike  that  prevailing  generally  in  Kentucky  industry  or 
elsewhere  in  the  Kentucky  coal  industry. 

Natural  advantages  favoring  cheap  coal  production  in  Harlan  were 
seized  upon  in  1910  by  local  enterprise.  Capital  was  secured,  a  rail- 
road was  built,  and  in  1911  the  first  coal  was  shipped.  Men  flocked 
in  from  the  surrounding  hills  to  work  at  the  mines,  and  the  population 
of  the  county  increased  at  an  extraordinary  rate.  Mountaineers,  drawn 
from  their  hill  farms  by  the  high  wages,  or  what  seemed  so  to  them, 
came  to  the  mines  to  work,  to  live  in  company  shacks,  to  trade  in  com- 
pany stores,  and  to  be  policed  by  company  guards. 

Limitations  imposed  on  workers  became  irksome,  but  it  was  not  prac- 
ticable to  resist  the  rulers  of  the  county,  who  were  mainly  intent  on  pro- 
tecting their  income  and  on  blocking  all  organization  that  might 
threaten  it.  Labor  unions  were  told  peremptorily  to  keep  out,  and  the 
Harlan  County  Coal  Operators'  Association  showed  that  on  this  point 
it  meant  business.  In  the  course  of  five  years  of  operator  rule  Harlan 
County  became  known  as  "Bloody  Harlan,"  and  labor  conditions  there 
became  popularly  identified  with  those  in  Kentucky  as  a  whole. 

After  two  years  of  increasing  unemployment,  unionization  of  large 
numbers  of  miners  was  effected  by  the  United  Mine  Workers  of 
America.  Strikes  that  developed  were  met  with  the  usual  strikebreaking 
tactics,  including  intimidation  and  worse  by  company  police  and  the 
importation  of  non-union  employees.  One  strike  brought  the  "Battle  of 
Evarts"  on  May  5,  1935,  in  which  two  deputy  sheriffs  in  the  employ 


LABOR  71 

of  mine  owners  were  killed  and  a  dozen  or  more  miners  were  killed  or 
reported  missing.  Something  like  civil  war  followed. 

Attempts  by  private  organizations  to  learn  the  facts  and  provide  re- 
lief for  out-of-work  miners  were  repressed  by  the  operators  and  authori- 
ties. Beginning  in  1931  the  violation  of  the  rights  of  miners,  organizers, 
investigators,  and  relief  workers  resulted  in  many  protests,  but  no  action 
was  taken  by  the  Government  until  the  La  Follette  Civil  Liberties 
Committee  started  an  inquiry  in  1935.  This  inquiry  was  still  in  prog- 
ress when  the  Wagner  Labor  Relations  Act,  affirming  the  right  of 
workers  collectively  to  bargain  through  a  union  of  their  own  choosing, 
became  law.  The  National  Labor  Relations  Board  subsequently  issued 
an  order  to  "cease  and  desist"  from  interference  with  unionization 
against  the  operators'  association. 

The  order  was  ignored  by  the  mine  owners,  and  indictments  on 
charges  of  conspiracy  to  deprive  citizens  of  their  constitutional  rights 
were  returned  against  23  members  of  the  operators'  association,  against 
a  like  number  of  individual  heads  of  the  companies  involved,  and 
against  21  deputy  sheriffs  allegedly  in  company  employ.  Feeling  in 
Harlan  ran  so  high  that  venue  in  the  case  was  changed  to  near-by 
London,  Laurel  County.  The  trial  began  May  16,  1938,  and  ended 
August  1  with  a  disagreement  of  the  jury.  Action  for  retrial  was  halted 
when  the  operators  signed  an  agreement  on  September  1  which  sub- 
stantially satisfied  the  miners'  demands. 

The  years  since  the  World  War  have  brought  difficult  problems  to 
the  unions.  A  policy  of  working  constructively  with  business  organi- 
zations and  with  State  and  Federal  Governments  has  lessened  the  im- 
pact of  depression.  Organized  labor  in  the  State  today  is  for  peace  in 
the  labor  movement,  improvement  of  labor  and  social  laws,  and  a  more 
comprehensive  educational  program  within  the  ranks  of  labor. 


THE  NEGRO 


A  PPROXIMATELY  226,240  or  7.8  percent  of  the  2,900,000  people 
£\^  in  Kentucky  are  Negroes.  They  live  for  the  most  part  in  the 
inner  Bluegrass  area,  of  which  Lexington  is  the  center,  and  in  the  better 
farming  sections  of  the  Pennyrile  around  Hopkinsville.  Despite  their 
relative  numerical  unimportance,  Kentucky  Negroes  are  an  integral 
part  of  the  State's  life  and  have  contributed  notably  to  its  development. 

In  1751,  when  Christopher  Gist  came  into  the  Kentucky  country  in 
search  of  lands  for  the  Ohio  Company,  his  only  attendant  was  a  Negro 
servant.  Fifteen  years  later  a  mulatto  slave  was  one  of  a  party  of  five 
exploring  this  region.  A  few  of  the  pioneers  from  Virginia  brought 
their  slaves  when  they  migrated  to  the  West,  but  as  a  rule  the  earliest 
settlers  did  not  own  slaves,  since  they  were  poor  and  slave  property 
was  a  luxury.  Such  slaves  as  were  brought  into  the  Kentucky  country 
in  the  early  days  were  usually  affectionately  attached  to  the  household 
through  long  years  of  service.  In  accounts  of  Indian  raids  slaves  are 
reported  as  loyal  and  daring.  One  of  them,  Monk,  owned  by  Colonel 
William  Estill,  was  an  expert  in  making  gunpowder  and  a  preacher  of 
ability,  listened  to  by  both  Negroes  and  whites. 

Though  slavery,  as  an  institution,  was  slow  in  becoming  established, 
there  were  more  than  12,000  slaves  by  1790,  and  their  number  in- 
creased during  the  next  40  years.  In  1833,  when  a  quarter  of  the  total 
population  was  Negro,  it  was  thought  prudent  to  legislate  against  fur- 
ther importation  of  slaves.  Thereafter  the  proportion  of  Negroes  to 
whites  decreased. 

This  was  partly  because  of  the  profitable  traffic  with  sections  of  the 
Deep  South  where  cotton,  cane,  rice,  and  other  crops  dependent  on 
slave  labor  were  raised.  Another  factor  was  the  Underground  Railroad, 
so  named — according  to  one  version  of  the  origin  of  the  term — by  a 
Kentuckian.  Fostered  by  Northern  money,  directed  by  shrewd,  re- 
sourceful men,  it  spirited  fugitives  across  the  Ohio  River  into  the 
friendly  shelter  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Despite  the  reputedly  mild  and 
patriarchal  character  of  slavery  in  Kentucky,  Negroes  took  advantage 

72 


THE    NEGRO  73 

of  the  opportunity  thus  offered  to  gain  their  freedom.  The  State's  loss 
in  slave  property  has  been  placed  at  not  less  than  $200,000  annually, 
in  the  decades  immediately  preceding  the  War  between  the  States. 

Since  the  State  did  not  secede  from  the  Union,  its  slaves  were  not 
freed  by  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  but  by  the  Thirteenth  Amend- 
ment, enacted  on  December  18,  1865.  The  State  legislature  passed  a 
civil  rights  act,  repealing  the  old  slave  code,  in  February  1866. 

In  reality  the  slave  system  was  not  ended  by  legislation  but  by  enlist- 
ment. Negroes  deserted  from  the  fields,  or  were  forcibly  taken,  to  serve 
in  the  Union  Army.  The  historian,  E.  Merton  Coulter,  states  that 
"10,000  slaves  left  the  State  during  the  year  1863;  slaves  enlisted  at 
the  rate  of  a  hundred  a  day,  and  after  the  war,  were  freed  at  the  rate 
of  500  a  day."  The  1860  census  showed  236,167  Negroes  in  the  State, 
of  whom  10,684  were  free;  the  census  of  1870  showed  222,210 
Negroes. 

Though  losing  steadily  in  ratio,  Negro  population  has  gained  in  num- 
bers and  changed  in  distribution.  During  the  World  War  there  was 
considerable  migration  to  the  North,  where  labor  was  at  a  premium. 
Then  and  later  a  shift  set  in  from  the  poorer  farms  to  the  State's  in- 
dustrial centers — principally  to  Louisville,  Covington,  Newport,  and 
Ashland — and  to  the  mining  regions.  In  1930  approximately  half  of 
Kentucky's  Negro  population  was  urban.  Of  the  109,479  Negroes  on 
farms,  9,104  were  listed  as  operators;  4,175  of  these  owned  their  farms, 
4,914  were  tenants,  and  15  were  managers. 

The  proportion  of  those  gainfully  employed  is  high,  and  their  occu- 
pations are  varied.  The  1930  United  States  Census  lists  a  total  of 
106,572  gainfully  employed,  including  7,346  in  coal  mines,  3,414  in 
railroads,  2,239  in  building  construction,  2,226  chauffeurs  and  truck 
and  tractor  drivers,  1,473  laborers,  porters,  and  helpers  in  stores,  and 
1,222  waiters  (men  and  women). 

In  the  "white  collar"  class,  the  census  lists  39  Negro  college  presi- 
dents and  professors,  86  trained  nurses,  25  lawyers,  37  dentists,  129 
doctors,  727  clergymen,  and  1,615  teachers.  The  need  for  expansion  of 
Negro  activities  in  these  occupations  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  there  is 
1  trained  nurse  for  every  2,828  Negroes,  1  lawyer  for  every  9,142 
Negroes  and  1  doctor  for  every  1,752  Negroes  in  the  State. 

Two  large  Negro  insurance  companies  are  located  in  Louisville,  fac- 
ing each  other  on  Walnut  Street.  There  are  three  Negro  newspapers 
in  the  same  city:  the  American  Baptist,  the  Louisville  Leader  and  the 
Louisville  Defender. 


74  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

In  ante  bellum  days  most  of  the  free  Negroes  lived  in  Louisville,  and 
attempts  were  made  to  provide  education  for  them.  The  Freedmen's 
Guild  took  charge  of  such  efforts  after  the  war,  and  in  a  short  time 
established  35  schools  with  58  teachers,  many  of  them  Negroes.  There 
was,  however,  no  public  provision  for  financing  these  schools  and  tui- 
tion fees  were  necessarily  low.  Private  generosity  had  to  be  depended 
on  for  funds,  and  northern  Negroes  contributed  a  great  share  of  the 
donations. 

In  1866  a  law  was  passed  providing  that  the  proceeds  of  all  Negro 
taxes  should  be  divided  equally  between  Negro  schools  and  Negro 
paupers.  The  principle  of  equality  in  education  was  incorporated  in 
the  constitution  of  1891,  perhaps  as  a  result  of  agitation  in  1873  and  a 
threat  of  appeal  to  the  State  and  Federal  courts  for  equal  school  ad- 
vantages. During  the  present  century  educational  facilities  for  Negro 
children  have  improved. 

In  one  institution  only — Berea  College — have  Negroes  in  Kentucky 
been  permitted  to  attend  school  with  whites.  But  this  practice  was 
discontinued  in  1904  when  the  law  prohibiting  "mixed"  schools  was 
passed.  A  division  of  property  and  endowment  was  effected,  and  Lin- 
coln Institute,  a  high  school  for  Negroes,  modeled  on  Berea,  was  es- 
tablished in  Shelby  County. 

The  Louisville  Municipal  College  for  Negroes  is  an  outgrowth  of 
Simmons  University,  founded  in  1873  by  the  General  Association  of 
Colored  Baptists  of  Kentucky  as  the  Kentucky  Normal  and  Theological 
Institute.  In  1920  a  proposal  for  a  million-dollar  bond  issue  for  the 
University  of  Louisville  was  defeated,  largely  because  it  did  not  have 
the  support  of  the  Negro  electorate.  The  proposal,  with  provisions 
for  earmarking  $100,000  of  the  issue  for  the  advancement  of  higher 
education  for  Negroes  in  Louisville,  was  resubmitted  in  1925  and 
passed.  Simmons  University  was  purchased,  renamed  the  Louisville 
Municipal  College  for  Negroes,  and  opened  as  part  of  the  University 
of  Louisville  on  February  9,  1931.  The  institution  is  now  recognized 
as  a  four-year  college,  and  has  the  highest  scholastic  rating  of  any 
Negro  institution  in  the  State. 

The  only  other  State-supported  institution  of  higher  learning  in  the 
State  is  the  Kentucky  State  Industrial  College  at  Frankfort.  Since 
no  State  institution  granting  master's  and  higher  degrees  admits 
Negroes,  the  Anderson-Mayer  Aid  Act,  passed  in  1935,  requires  the 
State  to  defray  expenses  of  Negro  students  wishing  to  secure  ad- 
vanced degrees  in  institutions  outside  the  State. 


THE    NEGRO  75 

The  church  is  to  a  considerable  degree  the  center  of  social  life  for 
the  Kentucky  Negro.  The  first  Negro  church  in  Kentucky  was  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  organized  in  Louisville  in  1816.  It 
was  not  until  after  emancipation,  however,  that  the  Negro  church  de- 
veloped, for  the  Negro  slave  generally  attended  his  master's  church, 
worshiping  in  a  gallery  set  aside  for  the  purpose.  Sometimes  separate 
Negro  services  were  held  in  schoolhouses  and  vacant  church  buildings, 
and  gave  rise  to  preachers  who  achieved  more  than  local  fame.  Josiah 
Henson,  a  slave  in  Davies  County,  preached  widely  in  both  America 
and  England  after  escaping  from  bondage.  He  is  best  known  as  one 
of  the  many  prototypes  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe's  "Uncle  Tom." 
Total  State  membership  of  Negro  churches  today  is  127,126;  the  Bap- 
tist, with  83,837  members,  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal,  with 
10,492,  and  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal,  with  7,715  are  the  three 
major  denominations. 

In  politics  the  Kentucky  Negro  has  been  traditionally  Republican, 
but  in  recent  years  he  has  supported  the  Democratic  party.  In  Louis- 
ville, Lexington,  Hopkinsville,  and  Paducah  the  Negro  vote  is  often  a 
decisive  factor.  As  has  been  noted  above  the  Negro  vote  was  largely 
responsible  for  the  establishment  of  the  Louisville  Municipal  College 
for  Negroes,  and  other  advances  for  Negroes  in  the  educational  field 
have  been  won  through  the  ballot  box.  Phil  Brown,  Kentucky's  out- 
standing Negro  in  politics,  was  appointed  Commissioner  of  Conciliation, 
in  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor  in  April  1921  and  served 
in  this  capacity  until  November  1923.  Representative  C.  W.  Ander- 
son, Jr.,  a  Negro  of  Louisville,  has  served  in  the  State  legislature  since 
1933. 

Housing  facilities  for  Negroes,  long  a  reproach  to  property  owners 
and  to  those  in  authority,  are  improving.  Many  fine  homes,  well  main- 
tained, are  owned  and  occupied  by  Negroes.  The  Federal  Housing 
Administration  completed  one  Negro  project,  College  Court  in  Louis- 
ville, in  1937  and  has  others  under  immediate  consideration. 

In  all  the  wars  fought  since  Kentucky  became  a  State,  the  Negro 
has  played  his  part  with  credit  and  distinction.  Approximately  23,700 
Negroes  served  in  the  War  between  the  States;  hundreds  saw  service 
in  the  Spanish-American  War,  and  12,580,  or  more  than  14  percent 
of  the  Kentuckians  in  the  World  War,  were  Negroes. 

Among  Kentucky  Negroes  who  have  won  distinction  in  their  chosen 
fields  are  Bishop  Alexander  Walters,  civic  and  political  leader;  Allen 
Allensworth,  chaplain  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Infantry;  Charles  Young, 


76  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Twenty- fourth  Infantry;  Isaac  Murphy,  famous  jockey;  Roland  Hayes, 
the  singer,  a  native  of  Georgia,  but  resident  in  Louisville;  Stephen 
Bishop,  one  of  the  explorers  of  Mammoth  Cave;  Joseph  Seamon  Cotter, 
the  poet,  and  his  son,  Joseph  Seamon  Cotter,  Jr.,  also  a  poet;  Ernest 
Hogan,  showman  and  one  of  the  popularizers  of  "jazz";  and  H.  C. 
Russell,  Negro  specialist  in  the  United  States  Office  of  Education. 


RELIGION 


CHURCH  membership  in  Kentucky  has  increased  at  a  rate  faster 
than  that  of  the  population.  Almost  one-half  of  the  people  of 
the  State — approximately  a  million — are  church  members  today,  while 
only  about  one  person  in  12  claimed  membership  in  1800. 

The  different  religious  sects,  of  which  there  are  nearly  60,  show 
great  disparity  in  size  and  represent  divisions  and  subdivisions  within 
some  of  the  major  denominations.  The  Baptists,  the  largest  single 
group,  have  a  total  membership  of  425,000,  of  which  300,000  are  in  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention  and  the  remainder  in  nine  other  Baptist 
divisions.  The  Catholics  come  next  in  point  of  numbers,  with  180,000 
members,  followed  by  the  Methodists  with  170,000  members  dis- 
tributed among  eight  subdenominations.  The  Disciples  of  Christ 
(better  known  in  Kentucky  as  the  Christian  Church)  have  a  member- 
ship of  122,000,  and  the  Presbyterians  (subdivided  into  five  groups) 
number  52,000.  The  remaining  50,000  church  members  are  found  in 
more  than  50  smaller  organizations. 

The  religious  history  of  the  State  falls  roughly  into  four  periods: 
the  time  of  pioneering,  the  decades  of  the  Great  Revival  beginning  in 
1797,  the  period  dominated  by  the  slavery  issue  and  the  War  between 
the  States;  and  what  may  be  considered  the  modern  epoch,  following 
reconstruction  and  extending  to  the  present.  As  the  story  unfolds, 
the  growth  of  the  different  denominations  and  their  relative  status 
today,  as  well  as  the  underlying  causes  of  their  schisms,  become  clear. 

Pioneering  days  were  marked  by  the  missionary  zeal  of  the  first 
pastors  and  circuit  riders  and,  conversely,  by  a  general  indifference 
to  religious  matters  on  the  part  of  the  general  populace.  An  Epis- 
copalian minister,  the  Reverend  John  Lythe,  preached  the  first  sermon 
of  which  there  is  any  record  in  1775.  The  first  recorded  preaching  by 
a  Baptist  minister  took  place  at  Harrodsburg  the  following  year,  but 
Baptist  services  were  probably  held  before  that.  Increasing  religious 
activity  came  in  the  1780's.  Three  Baptist  churches  were  established 
in  1781  at  Severn's  Valley  (now  in  Elizabethtown),  Cedar  Creek,  and 

77 


78  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Gilbert's  Creek;  the  first  Methodist  church  west  of  the  Alleghenies 
was  organized  near  Danville  in  1783;  and  during  the  following  year 
Reverend  David  Rice  settled  there  to  take  charge  of  three  associations 
with  about  twenty  churches.  By  this  time  the  Presbyterians  had  or- 
ganized their  first  presbytery  with  twelve  churches,  and  a  Roman 
Catholic  church  had  been  built  at  Holy  Cross  near  Rohan  Knobs.  In 
1789  there  were  three  Methodist  circuits;  the  first  annual  conference  of 
Methodists  was  held  near  Lexington  in  1790.  When  Kentucky  be- 
came a  State  in  1792  there  were  forty-two  churches  with  a  combined 
membership  of  3,095. 

But  despite  this  apparent  activity  of  organized  religion,  morals  were 
at  low  ebb  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  according  to  the  ac- 
counts of  eyewitnesses.  Frontier  conditions  and  general  religious  in- 
difference throughout  the  country  at  this  time  would  seem  to  give 
credence  to  these  contemporary  estimates.  The  time  was  ripe  for  the 
Great  Revival. 

The  first  signs  appeared  in  1797  when  James  McGready,  a  Presby- 
terian minister,  came  from  South  Carolina  to  take  charge  of  three 
churches  in  Logan  County.  By  1800  the  revival  spirit  had  swept  over 
the  entire  State  and  the  adjoining  territory.  The  period  was  marked 
by  a  wave  of  religious  excitement  that  found  expression  in  the  re- 
vivalist or  camp  meeting  type  of  service  and  led  to  a  dramatic  in- 
crease in  church  membership. 

One  striking  psychological  phenomenon  associated  with  the  revival 
meetings  (and  indeed  with  similar  meetings  today)  is  known  as  the 
"jerks."  People  were  seized  with  violent  convulsions,  the  head  jerking 
spasmodically  from  side  to  side.  Some  fell  into  a  coma-like  state; 
others  rolled  on  the  ground,  jumped  and  ran,  danced,  barked,  gave 
way  to  hysterical  laughter,  or  had  trances  and  visions.  A  high  tide  of 
emotionalism  swept  over  the  meetings  and  kindled  a  flame  of  religious 
fervor. 

The  Presbyterians,  among  whom  the  revival  movement  first  showed 
itself,  failed  to  profit  by  it.  Instead,  they  split  on  the  rock  of  doc- 
trinal and  practical  differences.  The  revival  spirit,  as  it  spread  through 
the  State,  created  a  demand  for  preachers  that  could  not  be  met  by 
the  number  of  trained  ministers  available.  Opportunities  opened  up 
by  the  awakening  religious  interest  had  to  be  lost,  or  men  who  lacked 
the  formal  qualifications  for  the  task  had  to  be  licensed  to  preach.  The 
Cumberland  Presbytery,  immediately  responsible  for  carrying  on  the 
revival,  took  the  latter  way  out  of  the  dilemma,  and  was  dissolved  by 


RELIGION  79 

its  synod.  Appeal  was  made  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  1809  without  success,  and  as  a  result  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  Church  was  formed  as  an  independent  denomination 
in  1810.  By  1829  it  had  grown  so  rapidly  that  it  organized  a  general 
assembly  of  its  own  with  eighteen  presbyteries. 

Matters  of  doctrine  offered  an  even  more  formidable  stumbling  block 
and  led,  indirectly,  to  the  formation  of  the  Church  of  the  Christian 
Disciples  (the  Christian  Church).  Barton  W.  Stone,  minister  in 
charge  of  two  Presbyterian  churches  in  Bourbon  County,  visited  the 
Logan  County  revival  in  1801  and  was  so  impressed  that  he  decided 
to  organize  a  similar  meeting  of  his  own.  Held  at  Cane  Ridge  in 
August,  it  drew  crowds  variously  estimated  all  the  way  from  10,000 
to  25,000.  Excitement  and  emotional  fervor  rose  to  a  high  pitch,  and 
the  Cane  Ridge  meeting  is  commonly  regarded  as  the  peak  of  the 
Great  Revival.  Stone  and  his  followers  (the  Stonites)  found  it  dif- 
ficult to  reconcile  the  part  played  by  human  reaction  in  salvation  with 
the  Calvinistic  emphasis  on  the  doctrines  of  election  and  predestina- 
tion, and  this  got  them  into  trouble  with  the  Presbyterian  Synod  of 
Kentucky.  Suspended  in  1803,  they  first  formed  the  independent 
Springfield  Presbytery,  but  almost  immediately  threw  over  the  back- 
ground of  allegiance  to  the  parent  denomination  and  adopted  the 
simple  name  "Christian." 

The  Baptists,  unlike  the  Presbyterians,  took  full  advantage  of  the 
Great  Revival  to  add  to  their  ranks.  In  the  three  years,  from  1800 
to  1803,  they  enrolled  10,000  members,  and  by  1820  had  more  mem- 
bers than  all  other  denominations  combined.  But  trouble  was  brew- 
ing. Thomas  Campbell  and  his  son  Alexander,  originally  Presby- 
terians, had  joined  the  Baptists  when  differences  of  doctrine  forced 
them  out  of  the  Presbyterian  fold  in  1813.  They  became  an  influential 
force  among  the  Baptists  of  Kentucky  and  by  1830  had  drawn  as 
many  as  10,000  adherents  away  from  the  Baptist  ranks.  Their  fol- 
lowers (the  Campbellites)  held  the  Armenian  views  and  sought  to 
promote  a  simple  evangelical  Christianity.  In  1832  two  men  repre- 
senting the  Stonites  and  the  Campbellites  were  sent  through  Kentucky 
to  bring  these  two  groups  together.  They  were  largely  successful  and 
effected  a  union  resulting  in  the  organization  of  the  Christian  Church 
—which  may  be  regarded  as  a  sect  formed  of  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian and  the  Baptist  Churches. 

Methodism  was  peculiarly  open  to  the  influence  of  the  Great  Re- 


8o  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

vival.  Its  numbers  grew  rapidly  and  it  prospered;  not  until  later  did 
it,  too,  suffer  dissensions  and  divisions. 

The  Catholics  were  untouched  by  the  revival^  but  were  perhaps 
affected  by  the  general  awakening  of  interest  in  religion.  The  first 
diocese,  which  originally  included  Tennessee  and  all  the  Northwest 
Territory,  was  organized  at  Bardstown  in  1808.  The  first  bishop, 
Benedict  Joseph  Flaget,  had  his  residence  in  a  log  cabin  (still  pre- 
served) at  St.  Thomas,  near  Bardstown,  and  began  building  the  first 
cathedral  west  of  the  mountains  at  Bardstown  in  1819.  It  was  not 
until  1841  that  the  see  was  transferred  to  Louisville. 

The  Shakers,  though  they  did  not  come  directly  under  the  influence 
of  the  revival,  were  drawn  to  Kentucky  by  it.  Organized  as  an  off- 
shoot of  Quakerism  in  England,  the  Shaker  Society  had  been  brought 
to  America  in  1775  by  "Mother  Ann"  Lee,  and  was  first  centered  in 
New  York.  Its  members  believed  in  strict  and  simple  living,  in 
prophecy,  and  direct  spiritual  guidance.  Thus  they  were  attracted  by 
reports  of  the  revival,  and  thought,  probably,  that  Kentucky  would 
offer  congenial  soil  for  Shaker  beliefs  and  practices.  For  a  time  the 
Shakers  prospered  in  their  new  home,  and  had  two  establishments  of 
which  one,  known  as  Shakertown  or  Pleasant  Hill,  is  still  well  pre- 
served. By  about  1850,  however,  the  society  began  to  decline. 
Shakerism  in  Kentucky  is  of  historic  interest  but  it  is  not  part  of  the 
present-day  picture.  There  are  still  a  few  Shakers  in  America,  but 
none  are  left  in  the  State. 

What  may  be  considered  the  third  period  in  Kentucky's  religious 
history  reached  its  climax  during  the  War  between  the  States.  It  saw 
divisions  over  the  slavery  issue  within  the  major  denominations,  and 
reflected  the  trend  of  secular  events  which  so  bitterly  divided  the 
Nation. 

The  Presbyterians,  already  disorganized  by  the  revival,  were  further 
divided  in  1837  by  a  general  schism  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  over 
doctrinal  matters  into  Old  School  and  New  School  Presbyterians.  The 
latter  organization  was  confined  largely  to  the  North  and  became  out- 
spokenly antislavery.  But  there  were  enough  Southern  members,  in- 
cluding the  Kentucky  Presbytery  of  Lexington,  to  cause  these  to  with- 
draw in  1857  to  form  the  United  Synod  of  the  South,  with  six  synods, 
twenty-one  presbyteries,  and  about  15,000  members.  In  1864  the 
United  Synod  of  the  South  joined  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  Con- 
federate States  (which  had  split  off  from  the  Old  School  Church  in 
1861)  to  form  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  now  pop- 
ularly known  as  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church.  Since  Kentucky 


RELIGION  8l 

was  a  border  State,  the  war  divided  the  Presbyterians  cruelly,  and 
created  chaos  in  their  ranks.  The  Southern  churches  cut  themselves 
off  completely  from  Northern  affiliations,  and  this  wound  has  not  yet 
been  entirely  healed. 

The  Baptists  and  Methodists  also  split  on  the  slavery  question.  As 
early  as  1844  the  Baptist  associations  of  the  South,  including  those 
in  Kentucky,  withdrew  from  the  triennial  convention  to  form  their  own 
organization,  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention.  In  the  same  year  the 
Methodists  decided  on  an  amicable  separation,  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South  (Southern  Methodist  Church)  was  organized 
in  Louisville  in  May  1845.  Of  its  460,000  members  in  1846 — in  the 
entire  South — 125,000  were  Negro.  But  by  1860  there  remained 
fewer  than  50,000  Negroes,  and  ten  years  later  these  withdrew  to  form 
the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

With  the  slavery  issue  settled  and  the  War  between  the  States  be- 
hind them,  the  denominations  which  split  on  these  national  issues  have 
shown  a  growing  tendency,  not  yet  altogether  successful,  to  mend  the 
schisms  of  that  period.  A  gradual  development  of  tolerance,  and  of 
social  and  philanthropic  activities,  mark  the  fourth  (or  present)  period 
of  Kentucky's  religious  history. 

The  picture  of  religious  life  today  may  be  drawn  briefly.  There 
are,  all  told,  more  than  7,000  churches  in  the  State.  Though  only 
about  16  percent  are  urban,  these  claim  approximately  40  percent  of 
the  entire  church  membership.  More  than  50  percent  of  all  Negroes  in 
Kentucky  are  church  members;  the  Baptist  group — numbering  90,000 
— is  larger  than  all  other  Negro  church  groups  combined. 

The  Baptists,  as  stated  above,  are  the  largest  single  religious  group. 
They  are  found  in  every  county  except  those  of  the  extreme  north- 
eastern section.  In  many  counties  they  constitute  half  (or  more)  of 
the  church  membership,  and  are  especially  strong  along  the  southern 
border  and  in  the  southeastern  section.  The  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention has  as  yet  shown  no  inclination  to  reunite  with  other  Baptist 
groups,  possibly  because  of  the  fundamentalist  issue. 

Catholic  church  membership  is  unevenly  distributed.  Thirty-four 
counties  in  the  southwest  and  along  the  southern  and  eastern  borders 
report  no  Catholics,  while  115,000  of  the  total  180,000  are  in  Jeffer- 
son, Campbell,  Nelson,  and  Kenton  Counties. 

Of  all  the  denominations  divided  by  the  slavery  issue,  the  Method- 
ists have  shown  the  strongest  tendency  toward  reconciliation  with 
the  Northern  Conference.  In  1925  a  plan  for  the  organic  reunion  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 


82  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

South  failed  by  a  narrow  margin  of  the  combined  votes  of  lay  and 
ministerial  members  of  the  Southern  Church,  while  the  vote  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  itself  was  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of 
union.  In  April  1938,  at  a  meeting  of  the  general  conference  in  Birm- 
ingham, Alabama,  a  plan  of  union  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  334 
affirmative  votes  to  26  opposing  votes.  The  plan  provided  for  a  unit- 
ing conference  to  be  held  on  April  26,  1939,  for  the  purpose  of  har- 
monizing and  combining  provisions  now  existing  in  the  disciplines  of  the 
uniting  churches.  At  a  conference  held  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  in 
June  1939,  the  three  branches  of  Methodism  were  united  under  the 
name  "The  Methodist  Church." 

The  Presbyterians  are  still  divided  into  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  with  22,000  members;  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America,  with  16,000  members;  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  with  11,600  members;  and  the  Colored  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  and  the  United  Presbyterians  with  1,370  members. 
There  are,  however,  many  indications  of  effort  to  unite  northern  and 
southern  elements. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  is  comparatively  small.  More 
than  half  of  its  13,000  members  are  in  Jefferson  and  Breckinridge 
Counties  and  75  of  the  120  counties  report  no  members.  Jewish  con- 
gregations are  likewise  small.  Of  the  15,500  Jews  in  the  State,  12,500 
are  concentrated  in  Louisville. 

Camp  meetings,  revivals,  baptisms,  and  other  outdoor  religious 
gatherings,  which  formerly  were  an  important  factor  in  the  religious 
life  of  the  State,  have  almost  entirely  disappeared  except  in  the  Ken- 
tucky highlands.  Here  customs  change  slowly,  and,  even  with  better 
roads  and  churches,  these  activities  are  still  conducted  with  great 
fervor.  One  of  the  oldest  institutions  of  its  kind  in  the  Southern 
Methodist  Church  is  the  Kavanaugh  Camp  Meeting  near  Crestwood, 
18  miles  from  Louisville.  Founded  more  than  60  years  ago  by  Bishop 
H.  H.  Kavanaugh,  the  meeting  has  been  held  here  annually  except 
for  a  short  period  when  the  camp  was  closed.  Before  there  were  any 
buildings  on  the  grounds  everything  was  of  a  primitive  nature.  Benches 
were  built  in  a  grove  of  oak  and  beech  trees;  tents  were  used  to  lodge 
those  who  wished  to  remain  for  the  entire  meeting.  Later  a  pavilion,  a 
dining  hall,  dormitories,  and  about  twenty  cottages  were  added.  Today 
the  camp  is  equipped  with  modern  conveniences.  Speakers  of  na- 
tional prominence  deliver  addresses  at  the  meetings,  which  are  inter- 
denominational . 


EDUCATION 


PIONEER   Kentuckians  were  often  unlettered,  according  to   the 
standards  of  formal  education,  but  they  respected  learning.    Wher- 
ever stockades  were  erected,  cabins  within  them  were  set  apart  as 
schools  in  which  the  more  literate  members  of  the  community  taught 
the  "three  R's,"  often  from  memory. 

In  1775,  before  the  first  church  and  the  first  court  of  justice  were 
established,  the  first  school  was  opened  in  the  fort  at  Harrodsburg. 
The  teacher,  Mrs.  William  Coomes,  taught  the  beginners  to  read  and 
write  from  paddle-shaped  pine  shingles  inscribed  with  the  alphabet, 
and  from  Bible  texts.  At  McAfee's  Station,  near  Harrodsburg,  there 
was  a  school  in  1777.  John  McKinney  taught  at  Lexington  " between 
fights"  with  wildcats  and  Indians.  At  Boonesboro,  at  Logan's  Station 
— wherever  a  cluster  of  cabins  appeared — schools  were  established, 
presided  over  by  teachers  who  sometimes  knew  little  more  than  their 
pupils.  With  low  pay,  often  in  tobacco — which  was  legal  tender — 
bear  bacon,  buffalo  steak,  or  jerked  venison,  these  pioneer  teachers 
eked  out  a  precarious  existence. 

The  schoolhouse  was  a  cheerless  log  hut,  lighted  through  oiled  paper 
stretched  over  an  opening  that  served  for  a  window.  Books  were 
few,  but  there  was  always  the  Bible,  supplemented  by  hand-written 
texts. 

Numerous  private  schools  were  established  between  1780  and  1800. 
At  Lexington,  John  Filson,  Kentucky's  first  historian,  conducted  a 
private  academy  until  his  death  in  1788;  Elijah  Craig,  a  pioneer  Bap- 
tist minister,  established  a  school  for  his  congregation  at  Georgetown; 
and  Salem  Academy  at  Bardstown,  under  John  Priestly,  became  one 
of  the  leading  schools  in  the  State.  Schools  at  this  time  were  primarily 
for  boys,  who  were  taught  arithmetic,  surveying,  geometry,  bookkeep- 
ing, a  smattering  of  English  grammar,  and  a  little  Latin — if  they  were 
destined  for  the  law  or  medicine.  The  private  schools  opened  by  the 
French  immigrants  offered  languages,  music,  deportment,  and  "fancy" 
dancing. 

83 


84  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

There  were  also  "female"  academies,  which  corresponded  to  finish- 
ing schools  and  specialized  in  such  subjects  as  "ornamental"  literature, 
poetry,  and  fancy  and  practical  needlework,  in  addition  to  reading, 
writing,  and  grammar.  Girls  were  considered  cultured  if  they  were 
accomplished  dancers,  and  could  make  samplers  and  speak  a  little 
French. 

Early  efforts  at  elementary  education  were  definitely  individualistic, 
and  followed  the  motto  that  governed  Indian  fighting:  "Every  man 
to  his  man,  and  every  man  to  his  tree."  The  first  constitution,  adopted 
in  1792,  made  no  mention  of  education.  On  the  other  hand,  higher 
education  was  recognized  as  the  responsibility  of  the  State  soon  after 
the  Revolution.  In  1783  the  Virginia  Legislature  set  aside  confiscated 
Tory  land  in  the  County  of  Kentucky  "for  a  public  school  or  seminary 
of  learning."  As  a  result,  Transylvania  Seminary,  later  to  become  the 
first  university  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  was  opened  as  a  grammar 
school  at  Crow's  Station,  afterward  Danville,  in  the  double  log  cabin 
of  "Father"  David  Rice.  He  was  the  school's  first  teacher  at  a  salary 
of  three  pounds  sterling  a  year — one-half  to  be  in  cash  and  the  rest  in 
corn,  tobacco,  and  pork.  In  1788  the  seminary  was  moved  to  Lexing- 
ton, which  was  at  that  time  the  most  important  frontier  settlement  of 
the  West.  Transylvania  later  developed  and  prospered  sufficiently  to 
make  Lexington  the  literary  capital  of  the  region.  A  large  majority 
of  the  influential  men  in  the  early  history  of  Kentucky  and  the  West 
are  related  to  this  institution  in  one  way  or  another. 

In  1788  there  came  the  first  suggestion,  from  an  anonymous  Lexing- 
ton correspondent,  that  a  public  school  system  should  be  established. 
The  system  proposed  the  division  of  counties  into  districts,  in  each 
of  which  a  public  school  was  to  be  located.  The  opposition  of  the 
private  academies,  however,  prevented  the  materialization  of  the  plan. 
At  Georgetown  and  Bardstown,  and  in  Mercer  and  Madison  Counties, 
new  private  schools  were  opened. 

In  1794  Kentucky  Academy,  the  first  public  school  authorized  and 
incorporated  by  the  Kentucky  Legislature,  was  established  through  a 
State  endowment  of  6,000  acres  of  land  at  Pisgah,  near  Lexington. 
George  Washington  and  John  Adams  each  contributed  $100  to  this  in- 
stitution. Bethel  Academy,  the  first  Methodist  institution  of  learning 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  opened  in  Jessamine  County  in  1798.  The 
precedent  set  by  the  Methodists  was  quickly  followed  by  other  de- 
nominations. The  legislature  then  provided  endowments  of  6,000  acres 
of  land  to  each  county  in  the  State  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 


EDUCATION  85 

seminaries  that  were  somewhat  more  restricted  in  educational  scope 
than  colleges.  In  order  to  raise  $1,000  with  which  to  meet  preliminary 
expenses,  each  county  was  allowed  to  operate  lotteries. 

Notwithstanding  the  development  in  higher  education,  common 
school  instruction  still  followed  the  pioneer  principle  that  education 
should  be  diffused  downward  from  college  to  the  masses.  By  the  end 
of  the  second  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  fifty-nine  county 
academies,  favored  by  generous  legislatures,  were  chartered.  The 
majority  of  Kentuckians,  however,  failed  to  give  adequate  financial 
support  to  the  State-endowed  county  academies,  and  by  the  outbreak 
of  the  War  between  the  States,  only  one  of  them  was  left. 

The  period  1820-1850  was  one  of  extremes  in  the  development  of 
education.  Incompetent  trustees  of  academy  endowments  frittered 
away  assets;  visionary  legislatures  set  up  educational  funds,  only  to 
raid  them  for  any  emergency  which  arose ;  forward-looking  men  wagged 
an  admonishing  finger  at  those  in  places  of  responsibility;  Governors 
addressed  legislatures,  and  the  press  at  times  vigorously  argued  in  be- 
half of  the  uneducated  masses.  Meanwhile,  religious  denominations 
were  establishing  or  getting  control  of  colleges,  seminaries,  and  acad- 
emies throughout  the  State;  but  this  contributed  little  if  anything  to 
elementary  education. 

The  general  educational  level  in  1830  was  revealed  in  a  school  re- 
port from  78  out  of  83  counties.  Of  a  total  of  almost  140,000  children 
in  the  State  between  the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen  years,  only  31,834 
were  attending  school.  In  the  county  with  the  best  record  only  one- 
half  of  the  children  were  at  school. 

The  State's  leaders,  concerned  over  the  situation,  organized  the 
Kentucky  Educational  Society  in  the  early  1830's  to  arouse  public 
sentiment.  Realization  of  the  need  for  education  spread,  and  when 
the  Federal  Government  adopted  the  policy  of  distributing  surplus 
land  revenues  among  the  States  in  1836,  education  shared  in  Ken- 
tucky's $2,000,000  windfall.  A  fund  of  $850,000  was  set  aside  to 
found  and  sustain  a  general  program  of  public  education.  A  law, 
sponsored  by  Judge  W.  F.  Bullock,  of  Louisville,  was  passed  by  the 
legislature  on  February  16,  1838,  establishing  the  first  public  school 
system.  The  income  from  the  fund  was  to  be  distributed  among  the 
counties  according  to  the  number  of  children  of  school  age,  and  school 
districts  were  empowered  to  tax  citizens  to  an  amount  equal  to  the  sum 
received  from  the  State.  The  system  also  provided  for  a  State  board  of 
education,  division  of  the  State  into  districts  containing  30  to  50  chil- 


86  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

dren,  appointment  of  five  commissioners  of  education  for  each  county 
and  five  trustees  for  each  district. 

The  cause  of  general  education  was  retarded  by  the  fact  that  the 
prosperous  patronized  private  schools  and  the  poor  were  indifferent. 
Agitation  continued.  One  writer  suggested  that  not  only  should  the 
poor  be  educated,  but  poor  parents  who  needed  the  labor  of  their 
children  should  be  compensated  for  the  time  their  children  spent  in 
school. 

By  1840,  two  years  after  the  public  school  system  had  come  into 
existence,  the  first  real  public  school  census  was  made.  Only  32,920 
children  were  reported  in  school,  while  the  school-age  population  had 
increased  by  more  than  40,000.  There  were  42,000  persons  over  20 
years  of  age  in  the  State  who  were  unable  to  read.  Counties  with  as 
many  as  2,000  children  of  school  age  reported  none  in  school  attend- 
ance, while  the  best  records  again  showed  only  one-half  the  children 
in  school.  Still  the  legislature  and  elected  officials  bickered  over  school 
funds  and  policies. 

In  1847,  when  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  became  superintendent  of 
education,  the  situation  changed.  Due  to  his  efforts  the  new  constitu- 
tion, adopted  in  1849,  contained  a  clause  protecting  educational  funds. 
By  1853  the  common-school  law  was  in  operation  in  every  county  of 
the  State,  even  though  first-class  teachers  could  not  always  be  obtained 
with  the  funds  available. 

Then  came  the  War  between  the  States,  and  much  of  the  ground 
gained  was  lost. 

In  1869  there  were  4,447  schools  with  169,477  children  in  attendance 
out  of  a  total  of  376,868  of  school  age.  Nine  years  later  there  were 
still  226,323  children  out  of  school.  In  1883  more  than  250,000  peo- 
ple— 15  percent  of  the  Commonwealth's  population — could  not  read. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  Negroes  had  not  been  classed  as 
citizens  until  after  the  emancipation  of  slaves;  that  Negroes  almost 
without  exception  had  no  schooling  during  slave  days  and  that  ade- 
quate school  facilities  for  Negroes  did  not  exist  for  many  years  there- 
after. With  this  great  group  of  illiterate  children  added  to  the  popula- 
tion it  appeared  that  the  list  of  illiterate  citizens  in  the  State  had 
grown  alarmingly  when  such  was  not  the  case. 

Increasing  funds  went  into  common-school  education  and  the  citizens 
fought  illiteracy  under  such  slogans  as  "We  Want  a  Pen  in  Every 
Hand  in  Kentucky."  At  one  time  as  many  as  100,000  illiterates  were 
being  instructed  by  volunteer  teachers. 


V.  EDUCATION:   RELIGION 


OLD  CENTRE,  CENTRE  COLLEGE,  DANVILLE 


MOUNTAIN  SCHOOL  OF  NATURAL  STONE,  A  WPA  PROJECT 


BEREA  COLLEGE,  BEREA 


KENTUCKY  SCHOOL  FOR  THE  DEAF,  DANVILLE 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  KENTUCKY,  AIRVIEW 


TRAPPIST  MONASTERY,  GETHSEMANE 


AUDUBON  MUSEUM,  HENDERSON 

I  •  Mi  «  iliHI ! !  i : :  : :"  I  HI 


GIDDINGS  HALL,  GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE 


Hi 


j«m 

1,1 


fS2i 


GUEST  HOUSE,   SHAKERTOWN 


DOORWAY  TO  GUEST  HOUSE,  SHAKERTOWN 


I 


SHAKER  CEREMONIES 


SHAKER  CEREMONIES 


r 


Vfi      /' 

m* 


ST.  JOSEPH  S  CHURCH,  BARDSTOWN 


MUD  MEETING  HOUSE    (c.    1806),   NEAR  HARRODSBURG 


EDUCATION  87 

Kentucky's  educational  system  received  its  most  progressive  boost 
in  the  "Educational  Legislature"  of  1908  and  1909.  Funds  were  in- 
creased for  the  support  of  schools,  and  State  and  county  funds  were 
combined  and  distributed  on  a  basis  which  equalized  opportunities  for 
each  county.  From  1908  to  1936  important  changes  were  made  in 
the  whole  school  system:  the  school  laws  were  clarified  and  placed  in  a 
single  codification  in  1934;  the  Council  of  Higher  Education  was  or- 
ganized; the  University  of  Kentucky  was  made  head  of  the  educa- 
tional system  and  given  responsibility  for  graduate  training;  the  other 
State  colleges  were  entrusted  with  the  responsibility  of  teacher  training 
and  undergraduate  work  in  general.  Today  (1939)  Kentucky  has  the 
lowest  rate  of  illiteracy  of  any  of  the  southern  States,  and  State  sup- 
port to  its  public  schools  compares  favorably  with  that  of  the  Nation. 

Keeping  pace  with  the  development  of  common-school  education, 
facilities  for  higher  education  have  also  progressed.  The  University 
of  Louisville,  the  oldest  public  institution  of  higher  learning  in  the 
State,  was  founded  by  the  city  council  in  1837.  A  branch  of  the  uni- 
versity, the  Louisville  Municipal  College  for  Negroes,  offers  a  regular 
four-year  college  course.  The  Kentucky  State  Industrial  College  is  the 
only  other  State-supported  institution  of  higher  learning  for  Negroes 
in  the  State. 

The  University  of  Kentucky  was  founded  as  the  Agricultural  and 
Mechanical  College  in  1866,  under  provisions  of  the  Congressional 
Morrill  Land-Grant  Act.  It  opened  with  an  enrollment  of  190  stu- 
dents. The  present  resident  enrollment  is  3,825,  not  counting  students 
in  correspondence  and  extension  courses. 

There  are  four  State  teachers  colleges,  at  Richmond,  Moorehead, 
Murray,  and  Bowling  Green.  Among  the  privately  endowed  institu- 
tions are  Transylvania,  Centre,  Asbury,  Union,  Georgetown,  Win- 
chester, Kentucky  Wesleyan,  and  Berea.  Most  of  the  fifteen  junior 
colleges  in  the  State  are  supported  by  religious  denominations. 

Not  until  1911  was  a  concentrated  effort  made  to  establish  a  pro- 
gram of  adult  education.  In  that  year  Mrs.  Cora  Wilson  Stewart 
founded  the  "moonlight  schools"  in  which  adults  were  taught  to  read 
and  write.  Her  project  led  to  the  appointment  of  Governor  Mc- 
Creary's  "illiteracy  commission"  in  1920. 

The  public  school  system  is  now  supported  by  State  appropriations 
amounting  to  approximately  $11.65  per  capita,  in  addition  to  county 
appropriations  and  funds  derived  from  taxes  on  public  properties  for 
schools.  Approximately  655,186  Kentucky  children,  or  86  percent  of 


88  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

those  between  the  ages  of  six  and  eighteen  years,  were  enrolled  in 
public  and  private  schools  in  the  school  year  1934-1935.  In  1935 
there  were  848  high  schools  in  the  State,  773  for  white  children  and 
75  for  Negroes. 

In  co-operation  with  the  Works  Progress  Administration  and  the 
Public  Works  Administration,  modern  school  buildings  have  been  con- 
structed and  old  buildings  have  been  improved  in  practically  every 
county  in  the  State.  The  adult  educational  program  of  the  Works 
Progress  Administration  has  done  much  to  solve  the  problem  of  il- 
literacy. 


FOLKLORE  AND  FOLK 
MUSIC 


>HpHE  CONVENIENT  and  pithy  term  for  the  mountain  people  of 
JL  Kentucky,  "our  contemporary  ancestors,"  does  not  indicate  the 
origin  of  the  customs,  beliefs,  and  peculiarities  which  persist  among 
them.  For  they  too  had  ancestors.  These  were,  for  the  most  part, 
British,  and  of  the  soil.  Just  as  today  many  a  mountaineer  has  never 
been  ten  miles  from  his  birthplace,  so  also  his  forebears  remained  at 
home.  They  were  sturdy  men  and  women,  steeped  in  traditional  ways, 
independent  and  as  little  humble  as  possible.  The  mountaineer  is  that 
way  too.  He  cares  neither  for  ease  nor  for  soft  living.  He  is  hospita- 
ble. "Welcome,  stranger,  light  and  hitch,"  is  the  salutation,  and  the 
stranger  is  bidden  to  take  "d — n  near  all"  of  whatever  the  table  offers. 
A  hunter  by  race,  he  is  first  of  all  a  poacher,  in  arms  against  such  as 
would  deny  him  the  right  to  take  game  where  he  may  find  it,  a  trait 
dating  back  to  the  time  of  Robin  Hood  in  England.  His  speech  is  remi- 
niscent of  this  older  land  and  people.  Labeled  as  "a  survival,"  the 
mountaineer  in  reality  is  on  the  defensive,  protecting  himself  against 
later  comers  and  strange  ideas.  "I  wouldn't  choose  to  crave  this  new- 
fangled teachin'  and  preachin',"  he  says.  "All  I  ask  is  to  be  let  alone. 
I  was  doin'  middlin'  well.  The  hull  kit  and  bilin'  can  go  to  the  devil." 

Mountain  dialect  reflects  the  Anglo-Saxon  origin  of  the  mountain 
people;  obsolete  forms  found  in  Shakespeare  and  the  King  James 
version  of  the  Bible  are  in  common  use.  "dumb,"  "writ,"  and  "et" 
for  climbed,  wrote,  and  ate  are  sound  enough  if  you  go  back  a  few 
centuries.  "Buss"  for  kiss,  "pack"  for  carry,  and  "poke"  for  pocket- 
bag  and  the  like  are  pure  Elizabethan. 

Shakespeare  said  "a-feared,"  as  does  the  mountaineer  today,  and 
"beholden"  is  common  to  both.  "His  schoolin'  holp  him  mighty,"  says 
the  proud  mountain  father;  King  Richard  of  England  said,  "Let  him 
thank  me  that  holp  to  send  him  thither."  "Hit's  right  pied,"  shouts 
the  mountain  boy  when  the  snake  he  has  stoned  puffs  up  and  mottles. 


go  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

But  he  probably  never  read  of  "meadows  trim  with  daisies  pied/'  or 
heard  of  the  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin.  When  he  sings,  the  mountaineer 
"rolls  a  song,"  and  his  expression,  "he  looks  like  the  hind  wheels  of 
bad  luck,"  is  so  expressive  that  only  the  carping  student  would  seek  to 
trace  its  heritage. 

Folklore  is  found  not  only  among  the  mountaineers  but  in  every 
county  in  the  State,  in  town  and  in  city.  In  the  mountains,  however, 
because  of  close-knit  family  and  community  ties,  it  is  part  of  everyday 
life.  Songs  and  sayings  are  more  than  quaint  and  queer;  they  have 
living  reality.  How  much  of  the  folklore  is  Scotch  or  Welsh,  English 
or  Irish,  cannot  readily  be  known. 

The  sense  of  something  evil  pervades  mountain  superstition;  the 
devil  is  a  personage,  as  real  as  he  is  malicious,  as  easily  foiled  as  in 
Faust.  The  formula  is  common,  and  Satan  is  sent  packing  as  surely 
by  the  sacred  words  "in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost"  as,  in  European  story,  by  the  sign  of  the  Cross.  Stories 
of  people  seeing  the  devil  are  accepted,  and  such  an  experience  might 
almost  be  described  as  normal.  It  does  not  appear  that  belief  in  the 
"little  people,"  so  widespread  in  Ireland,  was  carried  to  Kentucky; 
few  cases  of  children  being  "fairy-struck"  exist.  There  is  bedevilment 
rather  than  enchantment. 

Hard  by  the  headwaters  of  Hell-fer-Sartain  is  the  Devil's  Jump,  a 
small  branch,  its  course  cluttered  throughout  by  a  confused  mass  of 
boulders  and  rocks.  Here  the  devil,  skipping  in  haste  from  hilltop 
to  hilltop,  his  apron  loaded  with  rocks  with  which  he  proposed  to 
burden  the  land,  "busted"  his  apron  string  and  dropped  the  cargo  into 
the  stream  below.  To  the  present  day  an  unusual  scattering  of  rocks 
will  be  met  with  the  exclamation:  "The  Devil  must  have  broken  his 
apron  string  hereabouts." 

Leslie  County  has  the  usual  legend,  based  on  a  common  Old  World 
theme,  of  a  wager  for  the  soul  of  a  human  being.  The  devil  chal- 
lenged a  gunsmith  to  a  shooting  match  with  the  soul  of  the  craftsman 
as  prize.  Singularly  enough,  the  gunsmith  won.  He  had  the  scare 
of  his  life,  however,  and  never  after  could  he  be  persuaded  to  return 
to  his  bench  and  fashion  fine  guns. 

Among  these  people,  who  are  not  of  the  twentieth  century,  nor  want 
to  be,  strange  things  are  everyday  happenings,  and  witchcraft  is  taken 
as  a  matter  of  course.  Witches,  however,  are  quite  another  story; 
they  no  longer  belong.  But  they  are  feared  just  the  same.  From 


FOLKLORE    AND    FOLK    MUSIC  QI 

ante  bellum  days  come  superstitions  given  to  white  children  by  their 
Negro  mammies.  This  is  the  origin  of  the  wholesome  dread  of  "hoo- 
doo" or  "voodoo"  signs. 

Weather  signs  are  deferred  to  and  planting  determined  by  the  phases 
of  the  moon.  If  you  don't  hang  a  bread-sifter  on  the  doorknob  at 
night,  you'll  find  witches  in  the  bread  in  the  morning.  "If  it  comes, 
it  no  comes;  if  it  no  comes,  it  comes"  means  that  if  the  crow  comes 
the  corn  will  not  grow;  if  the  crow  doesn't  come,  the  corn  will.  Along 
the  Upper  Middle  Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River  every  hamlet  and 
county  seat  has  its  ancient  teller  of  tales,  grateful  for  a  good  listener. 

Old  World  backgrounds  and  traits  of  Kentucky's  pioneers  are  reflected 
in  the  tunes  and  songs  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation — 
historical  and  sentimental  ballads  reminiscent  of  a  time  long  past. 
"Queen  Jane"  tells  how  Henry  VIII  followed  Jane  Seymour  to  the 
grave:  "Six  went  before,  four  carried  her  along.  King  Henry  fol- 
lowed with  his  black  mourning  on."  Dating  back  to  the  fifteenth 
century  mysteries  is  the  "Cherry  Tree  Carol,"  built  around  the  story 
of  Joseph  and  Mary  in  the  Apocrypha.  This  song  was  discovered 
by  Josephine  McGill  of  Louisville,  one  of  the  first  to  collect  and  har- 
monize songs  in  this  particular  field.  "Lord  Randal"  tells  the  story 
of  the  poisoned  lover,  a  universal  theme;  the  "Maid  and  the  Gallows 
Tree"  brings  in  the  ransom  motif;  while  "Barbara  Allen,"  "Lord 
Thomas,"  "Fair  Annet,"  "Sweet  William,"  and  "Lord  Lovel"  lament 
the  girl  who  loved  and  died. 

There  is  a  more  contemporary,  defiant  note  to  the  well-known  lines: 

Way  up  on  Clinch  Mountain  I  wander  along; 
I'm  as  drunk  as  the  devil — 
Oh,  let  me  alone. 

A  variant  is  more  plaintive: 

Go  away,  old  man,  and  leave  me  alone, 

For  I  am  a  stranger 

And  a  long  ways  from  home. 

With  a  Miles  Standish  touch,  another  ballad  tells  of  a  young  fellow 
in  love  who,  going  to  sea,  leaves  a  friend  to  kiss  his  sweetheart  good-by. 
Eventually  he  returns  to  find  friend  and  sweetheart  married: 

Jack,  you  selfish  elf, 

The  very  next  girl  I  learn  to  love, 

I'll  kiss  her  for  myself. 


92  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

A  distinctive  type  of  song  was  characteristic  of  the  camp  meetings, 
the  literary  form  resembling  the  popular  ballad  or  song.  "Old-Time 
Religion"— of  indefinite  length— and  "The  Old  Ship  of  Zion"  are 
typical  camp  meeting  songs,  sung  by  both  white  people  and  Negroes 
in  Kentucky. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  Kentucky's  social  and  educational  activities 
was  the  singing  school.  No  place  was  too  remote  for  the  singing  class 
that  met  in  the  church  or  schoolhouse.  The  songs  were  always  re- 
ligious and  were  usually  found  in  a  book  for  sale  by  the  teacher.  Two 
of  the  earliest  singing  schoolbooks  were  the  Kentucky  Harmony,  in 
use  by  1816,  and  Supplement  to  Kentucky  Harmony,  published  in  1820. 
Both  were  written  in  four-shape  notation  and  compiled  by  Ananias 
Davisson,  a  singing-school  teacher,  born  somewhere  on  the  border  line 
of  Maryland  and  Virginia;  they  contained  a  large  number  of  songs 
popular  in  the  rural  South.  The  first  fifteen  pages  of  Kentucky 
Harmony  were  devoted  to  Preface,  Rudiments,  General  Observation, 
"A  Remark  or  Two  at  the  request  of  several  Refined  Musicians," 
"Lessons  for  Tuning  the  Voice,"  and  directions  for  the  construction 
of  a  metronome.  The  144  pages  of  tunes  were  all  in  four-part  har- 
mony. Part  I  contains  "plain  and  easy  tunes  commonly  used  in  time 
of  divine  worship";  Part  II,  "more  lengthy  and  elegant  pieces,"  used 
in  "singing  schools  and  private  societies." 

The  Kentucky  Harmonist,  published  about  1817,  was  compiled  by 
Samuel  Lytler  Metcalf  (1798-1856)  whose  home  was  Shelbyville,  Ken- 
tucky. He  began  teaching  singing  school  when  a  mere  boy,  and  the 
proceeds  of  several  editions  of  the  Kentucky  Harmonist  enabled  him 
to  complete  his  medical  education. 

In  1835  appeared  the  first  edition  of  Southern  Harmony,  written 
and  published  by  "Singin'  Billy"  Walker— perhaps  the  most  widely 
known  of  the  shape-note  song  books  and  still  used  at  "Benton's  Big 
Singing."  The  last  of  its  many  editions,  which  appeared  in  1854,  has 
recently  been  reproduced  in  facsimile. 

Kentucky  Negro  spirituals  resemble  those  of  other  Southern  States, 
but  nearly  every  section  has  its  own  slight  variations  of  the  same  songs 
as  well  as  actual  new  ones.  So  characteristic  are  the  Negro's  own 
harmonic  arrangements  and  words,  that  his  songs  may  be  considered 
native  folk  music.  His  ability  to  convey  emotion  in  a  few  powerful, 
one-syllable  words  is  unparalleled.  Beautiful,  simple,  and  generally 
plaintive,  the  spirituals  are  the  unique  expression  of  the  Negro's  ex- 


FOLKLORE    AND    FOLK    MUSIC  93 

perience,  and  a  distinct  contribution  to  the  development  of  Kentucky 
music. 

Another  type  of  Kentucky  song  is  known  as  a  play-party  game. 
Singing  is  unaccompanied;  clapping  of  hands  and  stamping  or  patting 
of  feet  are  often  added.  Such  games  as  "Chase  (or  Shoot)  the  Buf- 
falo," "Skip  to  My  Lou,"  "Pig  in  the  Parlor,"  and  "Over  the  River 
to  Charley"  are  good  examples.  These  folk  games  have  died  out  of 
general  usage  in  Kentucky,  but  have  been  revived  at  school,  community 
gatherings,  and  camps. 

Breakdowns,  or  dance  tunes,  are  known  everywhere.  There  are  two 
kinds,  sung  and  instrumental.  The  former  is  often  the  same  as  the 
play-party  game,  except  that  it  is  used  as  a  square  dance.  The  second 
type  of  breakdown  calls  for  a  fiddler,  usually  with  the  accompaniment 
of  a  banjo  picker  or  guitarist.  The  string  band,  now  known  to  the 
radio  as  a  "Hillbilly"  band,  is  made  up  of  a  variety  of  instruments: 
fiddle,  banjo,  guitar,  bass  viol,  mandolin,  accordion,  castanets,  or  any 
available  musical  contrivance.  Old  songs  and  ballads  are  sung  regu- 
larly by  students  at  Berea  College,  Hindman  Settlement  School,  Pine 
Mountain  Settlement  School,  and  elsewhere.  Several  public  events  in 
the  State  are  held  annually  with  the  primary  object  of  preserving  Ken- 
tucky's folk  music.  Among  these  is  the  American  Folk  Song  Festival, 
sponsored  by  the  American  Folk  Song  Society,  founded  by  Jean 
Thomas  of  Ashland.  On  the  second  Sunday  of  June  of  each  year,  in 
front  of  the  "Traipsin'  Woman's"  cabin  in  a  picturesque  hollow  of  the 
foothills  of  Kentucky,  mountain  people  gather  to  present  a  program 
of  primitive  songs  and  dances.  The  annual  singing  convention  at 
Benton,  Marshall  County,  held  on  the  fourth  Sunday  of  May,  recently 
celebrated  its  fifty-fourth  meeting.  Kentucky  folk  music  is  now  reach- 
ing an  audience  outside  of  the  State,  through  the  radio  and  activities 
of  musicians  such  as  John  Jacob  Niles,  who  gives  concerts  and  lecture 
recitals  in  Europe  as  well  as  America. 


KENTUCKY  THOROUGH- 
BREDS 


XT7THEN  Daniel  Boone  in  1775  brought  to  the  Virginia  Legislature 
\^  a  resolution  to  improve  the  breed  of  horses  over  in  Kentucky 
County,  he  was  voicing  a  determination  that  has  persisted  in  the  Blue- 
grass.  And  the  Bluegrass  has  made  Kentucky  celebrated  throughout 
the  world  for  its  fine  horses. 

The  resolve  alone  would  not  have  been  enough,  however,  if  the 
Bluegrass  did  not  have  a  mild  climate  and  1,200  square  miles  of 
cherished  land  around  Lexington  peculiarly  fitted  to  be  the  nursery 
of  thoroughbreds.  The  long,  easy  roll  of  the  land,  with  its  firm,  dry 
turf  undisturbed  by  plows  and  harrows,  with  its  pools  of  water  and  its 
clumps  of  open  woods,  seems  to  please  the  eyes  and  feet  of  both 
horses  and  men.  Underneath  this  Bluegrass  turf  is  a  layer  of  rare 
Ordovician  limestone,  a  shell  deposit  laid  down  millions  of  years  ago 
when  the  region  was  an  ocean  floor.  This  limestone  gives  to  the  water 
and  grass  a  high  phosphorus  and  calcium  content  which  builds  light, 
solid  bones,  elastic  muscles,  and  strong  tendons  in  the  horses  that  feed 
and  drink  here.  Under  these  ideal  conditions  are  developed  the  prime 
requisites  of  the  Thoroughbred — strength  and  fleetness.  As  a  result, 
Kentucky-bred  horses  make  up  one-half  of  the  winners  on  first-class 
American  tracks,  and  a  large  majority  of  Derby  firsts. 

Kentucky  has  always  been  interested  in  horse  racing  and  horse 
breeding.  The  first  settlers  in  the  Bluegrass  were  men  from  Virginia 
and  the  Carolinas,  who  brought  with  them  over  the  mountains  and 
down  the  rivers  on  flatboats  strong,  fast  horses,  tended  affectionately 
and  with  care.  As  early  as  1788,  six  months  after  the  first  edition  of 
the  Kentucky  Gazette  was  printed,  there  appeared  the  first  Kentucky 
stallion  advertisements.  One  of  them  reads,  in  part: 

The  famous  horse  Pilgarlic,  of  a  beautiful  colour,  full  fourteen  hands  three 
inches  high,  rising  ten  years  old,  will  stand  the  ensuing  season  on  the  head  of  Salt 

94 


KENTUCKY    THOROUGHBREDS  95 

River  at  Captain  Abe  Irvins,  Mercer  County,  and  will  cover  mares  at  the  very 
low  price  of  ten  shillings  a  leap,  if  the  money  is  paid  down,  or  fifteen  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  season;  and  twenty  shillings  the  season  in  cash,  or  thirty  shillings  in 
good  trade.  .  .  . 

None  of  these  first  stallions  was  good  enough  to  improve  the  breed; 
but  after  about  fifty  years  of  importing  sires  and  brood  mares,  Ken- 
tucky began  to  produce  great  Thoroughbreds. 

The  first  Thoroughbreds  were  English  products.  In  England  the 
strong,  heavy  Norman  horses  that  had  carried  armored  knights  into 
battle  were  relegated  by  changing  times  to  the  fields,  and  the  qualities 
of  the  light,  fleet  animals  from  the  East  were  sought.  Three  great 
Eastern  sires  were  imported  into  England — the  Byerly  Turk  about 
1685,  Barley's  Arabian  in  1704,  and  the  Godolphin  Arabian  in  1730. 
Crossed  with  native  mares,  they  produced  the  English  Thoroughbred, 
a  peerless  runner.  In  England  the  Thoroughbred  was  improved  until 
there  were  the  three  great  stallions,  Herod  (1758),  Eclipse  (1764), 
and  Matchem  (1748),  who  established  the  three  dominant  male  lines 
to  which  all  Thoroughbreds  belong. 

America  imported  its  first  thoroughbred,  Bull  Rock,  son  of  the 
Byerly  Turk  and  grandson  of  the  Arabian,  in  1730.  Within  the  next 
thirty  years  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas  had  excellent  Thoroughbred 
stock.  Messenger  was  brought  to  America  in  1768,  and  Diomed, 
winner  of  the  first  English  Derby,  in  1799.  Messenger  was  crossed 
with  American  Thoroughbreds  and  native  mares  to  produce  the  stand- 
ard-bred, or  light-harness  horses — trotters  and  pacers  which,  like  the 
Thoroughbred,  found  their  best  home  in  the  Bluegrass.  The  third  of 
the  light  breeds  for  which  the  State  became  renowned  is  the  American 
Saddle  Horse,  which  developed  after  Denmark  (an  American  thorough- 
bred foaled  in  1839)  was  crossed  with  standard-breds  and  thorough- 
breds. This  breed,  known  for  beauty,  intelligence,  and  show  qualities, 
is  Kentucky's  own. 

During  the  War  between  the  States  Kentucky  horses  were  demanded 
by  both  factions.  Owners  subsequently  found  their  stables  empty,  and 
interest  in  breeding  at  a  low  ebb.  Since  it  was  costly  to  ship  horses 
East  and  South  for  big  money,  Colonel  Lewis  Clark  was  sent  to  Eng- 
land to  study  breeding  methods  and  to  investigate  the  Derby,  Eng- 
land's great  sporting  event.  The  result  was  the  first  Kentucky  Derby, 
held  at  Louisville  in  1875.  Aristides  galloped  home  for  a  purse  of 
$2,850.  The  mile-and-a-half  event  (now  a  mile-and-a-quarter)  was 
worthy  of  the  Kentucky  product.  Succeeding  Derbies  focused  attention 


96  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

on  the  State,  and  several  wealthy  Eastern  owners,  Milton  Sanford  and 
August  Belmont  among  others,  bought  large  estates  and  moved  their 
stables  to  the  Bluegrass  where  some  of  the  best-known  sires  in  America 
— Man  o'  War,  The  Porter,  Sir  Galahad  III,  Blue  Larkspur,  and  many 
others — are  spending  their  last  days  in  the  velvet.  Every  year  about 
15,000  people  follow  the  arrow  from  Lexington  to  pay  their  respects 
to  "Big  Red,"  as  Man  o'  War  is  affectionately  called.  Though  insured 
for  half  a  million,  and  guarded  day  and  night,  he  likes  nothing  so  much 
as  retrieving  a  hat  thrown  across  the  paddock.  His  25-foot  strides 
soon  discouraged  competition  and  he  was  retired  early.  He  once  was 
clocked  at  43  miles  an  hour  during  a  workout,  and  his  size  and  strength 
were  such  that  he  seemed  never  to  tire.  "Chicago"  O'Brien,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  plungers,  once  bet  $100,000  on  him  to  win  $1,000. 
Smasher  of  five  world  records,  his  "get,"  including  War  Admiral,  Cru- 
sader, Mars,  American  Flag,  Edith  Cavell,  and  Scapa  Flow,  are  near- 
ing  the  two-and-a-half  million  mark  in  winnings  on  the  American  turf. 

From  the  Bluegrass  have  come  many  of  the  great  moneymakers  of 
the  track,  among  them  Equipoise  (d.  1938),  the  third  highest  stake 
winner  in  America,  who  earned  $338,000;  Gallant  Fox,  who  took 
purses  of  more  than  $328,000;  and  Seabiscuit,  who  in  1938  passed 
the  $340,000  mark. 

The  horse  farms  range  in  size  from  less  than  a  hundred  to  two  or 
three  thousand  acres.  Many  of  the  larger  ones  are  financed  by  in- 
dustrial fortunes.  Despite  spectacular  individual  earnings,  such  es- 
tablishments rarely  enrich  their  owners.  Ten  thousand  dollars  is  a 
fair  price  for  a  yearling  colt  of  distinguished  parentage,  and  two  thou- 
sand more  each  year  will  keep  him  in  the  pink;  but  even  if  he  shows 
the  stuff  Derby  winners  are  made  of,  he  may  never  return  his  invest- 
ment. The  hazards  of  disease,  injury,  lack  of  speed,  and  tempera- 
mental obstacles,  all  unite  to  keep  Thoroughbred  breeding  a  sporting 
proposition. 

A  visitor  in  the  Bluegrass  sees  stone  walls  and  white  plank  fences 
rising  and  falling  on  an  ocean  of  dark  rich  green  to  enclose  paddocks 
and  fields  and  formally  beautiful  homes,  immaculate  barns  and  Negro 
cabins  as  precisely  arranged  as  in  a  blueprint.  Great  elms,  and  maples 
— trees  that  sheltered  early  settlers  as  they  made  their  way  across  the 
Great  Meadow — interrupt  the  endless  flow  of  green  pasture.  An  in- 
genious device  on  the  gates  makes  it  possible  to  open  them  from  an 
automobile.  The  driver,  if  he  is  lucky,  may  be  asked  by  a  grinning 
stable  boy  to  wait  a  few  moments;  then  he  sees  a  group  of  colts 


KENTUCKY    THOROUGHBREDS  97 

coming  over  a  hill  on  their  spindly  legs.  Prancing  along,  they  are 
ushered  gently  on  to  a  felt  carpet  that  has  been  laid  across  the  hard 
rock.  "Horses  first!"  is  the  primary  rule  on  the  horse  farm. 

The  larger  stables  maintain  a  Tack  Room,  which  is  decorated  with 
ribbons  and  silver  cups  and  may  have  a  bar.  The  Tack  Room 
actually  is  designed  to  contain  halters,  stirrups,  spurs,  reins,  and  other 
horse  equipment. 

The  story  is  told  of  a  man  who,  seeing  one  of  the  thoroughbred 
stables  for  the  first  time,  suddenly  removed  his  hat  and  said  in  awed 
tones,  "My  Lord!  The  cathedral  of  the  horse."  The  varnished  stalls 
with  polished  metal  trim  and  the  tanbark  aisles  without  a  wisp  of 
fallen  hay  are  as  neat  as  the  cabin  of  a  steamship.  A  stable  boy  leads 
out  his  royal  charge.  His  attitude  is  that  of  a  colored  mammy  toward 
the  "white  chile"  in  her  care.  He  croons  and  chuckles,  argues  and 
cajoles,  but  never  uses  a  whip.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  horse 
"knows  more  than  a  pin-headed  boy."  Yet  the  stable  boys  and  exer- 
cise boys  have  been  carefully  selected  for  their  tact,  skill,  and  disposi- 
tion. Usually  one  man  to  every  three  horses  is  employed  in  the  rac- 
ing stables  and  one  to  ten  on  the  breeding  farms.  There  may  be  ex- 
ercise boys,  grooms  who  rub  down  the  satin  coats,  jockeys,  foremen, 
blacksmiths,  veterinarians,  bookkeepers  and  cooks,  as  well  as  a  man- 
ager and  trainer. 

Methods  of  training  and  stable  routine  vary,  but  precision  is  the 
keynote  of  all  stables.  Colonel  E.  R.  Bradley,  of  Idle  Hour  Farm, 
has  a  record  sheet  posted  on  the  door  of  each  stall  where  twice  daily 
the  horse's  temperature,  the  amount  of  food  he  has  eaten,  and  other 
facts  of  his  behavior  are  recorded.  The  record  is  discussed  with  the 
veterinarian  each  night. 

During  the  spring  about  70  per  cent  of  the  brood  mares  on  a  farm 
will  foal.  Each  receives  the  care  of  a  maternity  ward  patient,  for 
nothing  must  go  wrong  with  the  Thoroughbred  baby.  He  spends  his 
first  summer  in  carefree  fashion  near  his  mother,  and  very  soon  his 
slender  legs  have  grown  sure  and  he  loves  to  run.  His  feet  are 
trimmed  and  watched  for  the  slightest  injury.  He  has  been  weaned 
at  about  5  to  6  months,  and  is  now  becoming  accustomed  to  a  diet  con- 
sisting mainly  of  crushed  oats,  with  corn,  bran,  salt,  and  flaxseed  in 
judicious  quantities.  Doses  of  cod-liver  oil  give  him  resistance  to  colds 
and  help  to  build  up  his  strength. 

His  first  lessons  begin  early;  he  is  broken  to  the  halter  when  a  few 
weeks  old;  as  a  yearling,  about  July,  he  learns  the  feel  of  bit,  bridle, 


98  KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

and  halter  shank.  Slowly  he  becomes  accustomed  to  the  tack  he 
must  carry  as  a  race  horse.  When  he  can  be  led  around  the  stall  thus 
equipped,  he  is  ready  for  the  paddock,  where  he  learns  to  obey  the 
commands  of  his  rider. 

New  Year's  Day  is  always  his  first  birthday,  though  he  may  be 
actually  only  seven  or  eight  months  old.  He  may  make  his  exciting 
debut  any  time  after  his  second  birthday.  Since  he  is  born  to  race, 
he  may  instinctively  know  the  procedure.  At  first  the  boy  lets  him 
go  along  easily  and  observes  his  reactions  to  the  track.  By  this  time 
it  is  known  whether  the  colt  is  calm  or  nervous,  high-spirited  or  digni- 
fied, stubborn  or  tractable. 

On  a  cool  autumn  day  the  yearling  goes  to  work.  For  a  few  weeks 
he  walks,  trots,  and  canters  up  to  as  much  as  three  and  a  half  miles  a 
day.  He  gets  a  few  speed  trials,  generally  at  one-quarter  mile.  After 
his  trials,  he  is  let  down  until  February  1,  unless  he  is  going  to  winter 
racing. 

If  the  Thoroughbred  comes  from  a  long  line  of  sprinters,  he  will 
probably  never  be  nominated  for  the  Derby,  but  he  has  plenty  of  op- 
portunities at  distances  shorter  than  that  famous  mile-and-a-quarter. 
By  his  second  winter,  perhaps  the  most  important  molding  period,  he 
has  usually  given  some  indication  of  his  racing  possibilities.  Some- 
times he  is  three  before  all  these  things  are  determined.  His  speed, 
action,  and  conformation  (the  extent  to  which  he  approaches  the  level 
of  excellence  for  his  breed)  do  not  always  explain  his  performance; 
authorities  agree  that  there  are  traits  bequeathed  him  in  the  con- 
glomerate blood  of  his  forebears.  Awkward  little  colts  are  often  pur- 
chased on  their  pedigrees  and  on  the  expectation  of  development.  The 
training  period  usually  places  the  Thoroughbred  in  the  company  he 
shall  keep;  only  a  few  are  stars,  but  almost  all  take  their  places  some- 
where between  Belmont  and  the  "leaky-roof"  circuits.  More  and 
more  Thoroughbreds  are  seen  in  polo  teams;  some  are  sold  for  saddle 
horses  or  hunters.  Before  being  placed  at  stud,  regardless  of  his  bril- 
liant ancestry,  a  stallion  has  usually  established  his  reputation  on  the 
race  track,  for  his  own  capabilities  should  be  proved  to  avoid  per- 
petuating any  possible  weakness  in  the  line. 

Some  weeks  before  the  seasonal  sales,  the  breeder  selects  the  most 
attractive  colts  and  fillies  for  a  regime  of  diet  and  grooming  that  will 
enable  them  to  appear  to  the  best  advantage.  Picking  a  great  race 
horse  out  of  a  string  of  yearlings  is  a  gamble.  Samuel  Riddle  paid 


KENTUCKY    THOROUGHBREDS  99 

$5,000  for  Man  o'  War  because  the  youngster  "had  a  look";  today 
he  stands  at  stud  for  that  amount. 

The  new  owner  is  usually  given  the  privilege  of  naming  the  colt — 
which  must  be  done  before  March  1  of  his  two-year-old  year.  This 
is  no  simple  matter.  There  can  be  no  duplicates  within  a  15-year 
period,  and  with  approximately  5,000  foals  registered  annually  in  the 
American  Stud  Book,  ingenuity  is  taxed  strenuously.  Any  number 
of  names  may  be  submitted  to  the  Jockey  Club;  the  owner  is  notified 
of  the  one  allowed.  Colts  may  be  given  names  inspired  by  their  an- 
cestry, or  associated  with  speed,  courage,  stamina,  supremacy,  luck, 
heroism,  or  plain  whimsy.  When  Colonel  Bradley  bought  the  colt 
Bad  News,  he  inquired  why  that  name  was  attached  to  the  animal. 
Said  the  owner,  "I've  always  heard  that  bad  news  travels  fast."  Brad- 
ley had  such  good  luck  with  his  first  two  horses,  Bad  News  and  Bri- 
gade, that  he  gave  all  the  others  "B"  names.  In  the  colorful  history 
of  the  Kentucky  Derby  he  is  the  only  owner  who  has  taken  four 
Derby  firsts.  Many  Kentuckians  will  bet  on  the  Bradley  entries  as 
a  matter  of  course.  Once  a  Negro  admirer  of  the  Colonel  declared  he 
would  name  his  expected  baby  for  the  Derby  winner.  After  two 
Bradley  horses  came  down  the  track  to  take  top  honors,  twin  off- 
spring in  Louisville  were  promptly  named  Bubbling  Over  and  Baggen- 
baggage  Jones. 

The  language  of  the  horse  barns  is  simple.  The  size  of  a  horse  is 
measured  in  "hands";  a  "hand"  is  four  inches.  An  average  horse  of 
the  light  breed  stands  between  15  and  16  hands,  as  measured  at  the 
wither.  A  "foal"  is  a  suckling  colt  or  filly.  "Filly"  applies  to  a 
female  four-year-old  or  less;  "colt"  applies  to  a  male  of  the  same 
years.  A  "maiden"  is  a  race  horse  that  has  never  placed  first  in  a  race. 
The  term  "stud"  applies  to  the  entire  plant  of  a  horse-breeding  farm — 
land,  buildings,  and  livestock.  "Imp."  before  a  horse's  name  means 
that  it  is  not  American-born,  but  imported.  Racing  time  is  written 
"1:34  2/5,"  and  is  read  "one  minute,  thirty-four  and  two-fifths  sec- 
onds." Twenty  years  is  considered  a  ripe  old  age,  but  many  exceed 
that  term  by  years,  and  a  few  have  been  known  to  live  into  their 
thirties. 

Jargon  of  the  track  is  extensive  and  baffling.  A  "high  school  horse" 
wins  when  the  odds  are  high ;  he  is  suspected  of  being  able  to  read  the 
board.  If  a  horse  is  "pitched  up,"  he  is  running  in  better  company 
than  usual.  A  jockey  who  "hand-rides"  makes  a  rousing  finish  with- 
out resorting  to  whip  or  spurs.  A  "grafter"  is  a  pet  kept  in  a  racing 


ioo         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

stable.  A  Kentucky  horseman  is  called  a  "boot";  a  "chalk  eater"  plays 
favorites;  a  "throat-latcher"  consistently  finishes  second  and  seldom 
wins;  a  "tumble-bug"  is  a  horse  that  likes  to  roll  in  his  stall. 

Kentucky  owners,  like  all  American  Thoroughbred  breeders,  are 
hoping  for  a  repeal  of  the  so-called  Jersey  Act,  a  rule  set  up  in  Eng- 
land in  1913,  which  declared  some  American  Thoroughbreds  "half- 
bred."  Horses  whose  lineage  cannot  be  traced  in  every  line  to  horses 
already  in  the  British  Stud  Book  fall  into  this  category.  Since  the 
blood  of  the  illustrious  Lexington  (foaled  in  America)  carries  through 
a  great  many  American  Thoroughbreds,  it  automatically  outlaws  the 
strain.  The  rule  was  made  to  hamper  our  export  trade  with  England 
at  a  time  when  racing  reached  a  low  ebb  in  the  United  States  and  own- 
ers were  shipping  their  Thoroughbreds  abroad.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  a  committee  of  experts  select  certain  superior  American  horses 
and  register  them  in  the  British  Stud  Book  to  redeem  this  country's 
Thoroughbreds  from  unfair  discrimination. 

Producing  a  Derby  winner  is  the  dream  of  every  thoroughbred  owner 
and  trainer  in  Kentucky.  When  Colonel  Bradley  came  to  Kentucky 
to  raise  horses,  he  was  told  that  it  would  take  15  years  to  breed  a 
Derby  winner;  it  took  him  just  that  long.  The  procedure  starts  sev- 
eral years  before  the  Derby  "in  the  imagination  of  some  sportsman 
when  he  decides  to  match  his  knowledge  of  breeding  and  bloodlines 
against  that  of  other  horsemen."  Joseph  E.  Widener  knows  the  haz- 
ards that  obstruct  entrance  into  that  exclusive  society.  In  1927  his 
colt,  Osmand,  was  thought  unbeatable,  but  he  lost  to  Whiskery  by  a 
head.  In  1935  one  of  his  favorites,  Chance  Sun,  broke  down  in  train- 
ing. In  1934  Peace  Chance  set  a  mile  record  before  the  Derby,  but 
finished  far  behind  Cavalcade.  In  1936  Brevity,  widely  accepted  as 
the  favorite,  lost  to  Bold  Venture,  a  20-1  shot. 

The  Derby  is  about  the  most  popular  sporting  event  in  America. 
Since  Matt  Winn  took  over  the  management  of  Churchill  Downs  in 
1902,  the  Derby  has  become  a  national  fiesta  with  an  economic  im- 
portance that  can  hardly  be  estimated.  In  the  dark  spring  of  1908 
when  Stonestreet  and  Sir  Cleges  seemed  likely  to  languish  in  their 
stalls  because  of  a  ban  against  illegal  betting,  Colonel  Winn  dug  down 
into  the  archives  of  Kentucky  legislation  and  produced  an  old  law 
permitting  pari-mutuel  betting.  The  day  was  won;  the  system  became 
popular  not  only  in  Kentucky  but  also  throughout  the  Nation.  Winn 
encouraged  bookmakers  to  open  a  winter  book,  which  gave  the  Derby 
nationwide  publicity.  Land  used  for  pasture  rose  in  price — the  value 


KENTUCKY    THOROUGHBREDS  IOI 

per  acre  is  three  times  that  of  the  best  Burley  tobacco  land — the 
value  of  horses  increased,  and  interest  in  breeding  ran  high.  Winn's 
dream  of  attracting  brilliant  three-year-olds  from  all  parts  of  the 
United  States  came  true.  Although  there  are  older  and  larger  stakes 
than  the  Derby,  none  attracts  a  more  cosmopolitan  crowd.  It  is  the 
dramatic  climax  to  the  Kentucky  legend,  or,  in  the  words  of  a  well- 
known  sports  writer,  "  'My  Old  Kentucky  Home'  acted  out  before 
your  eyes." 

All  roads  lead  to  Louisville  where  70,000  people  spend  more  than 
a  million  dollars.  Sleeping  quarters  cost  all  the  way  from  one  dollar 
for  a  room  to  a  thousand  dollars  for  a  large  house  over  the  weekend. 
Justice  relents,  and  rash  and  noisy  revelers  are  smilingly  indulged. 
All  the  juleps  served  in  Churchill  Downs  Club  bar  on  Derby  Day 
would  make  a  long,  long  drink.  Ambassadors,  Governors,  and  screen 
stars  enter  the  stands  with  collegians  and  stenographers  from  border- 
ing States,  and  all  suddenly  wish  they  had  been  born  in  Kentucky. 
Occasionally  julep-husky  baritones  of  city  "big  shots"  can  be  heard 
when  the  crowd  stands  to  sing  "the  sun  shines  bright  ..."  A  million 
radios  throughout  the  country  are  tuned  to  give  the  richest  two-minute 
suspense  of  the  year.  A  blanket  of  roses  awaits  another  champion. 


PRESS  AND  RADIO 


IN  MAY  1785  the  second  convention  to  discuss  "separation  from 
Virginia  and  the  formation  of  a  new  state,"  in  session  at  Danville, 
passed  a  resolution  to  establish  a  printing  press  in  the  western  ter- 
ritory for  the  purpose  of  "giving  publicity  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
Convention." 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  negotiate  with  a  printer  and  start  a 
paper.  But  for  some  reason  the  West  had  not  appealed  to  printers, 
and  none  could  be  found  among  the  settlers  in  the  territory.  Finally 
a  young  surveyor  and  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  John  Bradford  of 
Fauquier  County,  Virginia — without  any  previous  experience  as  a 
printer  or  editor,  but  a  man  of  unusual  common  sense — approached 
the  committee  with  the  proposition  that  he  would  undertake  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  newspaper  if  the  convention  would  assure  him  of  public 
patronage  when  the  new  State  came  into  existence.  His  terms  were 
met  and  the  Kentucky  Gazette  was  launched. 

The  citizens  of  Lexington  were  more  generous  in  their  support  of 
the  new  movement  than  the  citizens  of  Danville,  and  when  the  town 
council  of  Lexington  granted  Bradford  lot  number  43,  free  of  cost  as 
long  as  the  press  continued,  Lexington  became  the  birthplace  of  the 
first  newspaper  published  in  Kentucky. 

An  antiquated  press,  type,  ink  balls,  and  ink  were  secured  in  Phila- 
delphia in  the  summer  of  1787.  This  equipment  was  hauled  over  the 
mountains  to  Pittsburgh,  loaded  on  a  flatboat  and  transported  to 
Maysville,  then  taken  by  pack  horse  to  Lexington.  Some  of  the  type 
was  set  by  Bradford's  brother,  Fielding  Bradford,  as  they  drifted  down 
the  river,  but  most  of  it  was  reduced  to  "pi"  on  the  journey  from 
Maysville  to  Lexington.  Nevertheless,  on  August  11,  1787,  Bradford 
issued  the  first  edition  with  an  editorial  apology.  It  was  a  small  sheet 
about  8  x  10^2  inches,  folded  once,  making  a  four-page  paper  of  news 
collected  by  the  Bradfords  on  their  journey  to  and  from  Philadelphia. 
No  copies  of  this  first  issue  of  about  180  papers  are  in  existence.  Local 
news  was  given  little  consideration  in  the  early  editions,  but  partisan 

102 


PRESS    AND    RADIO  103 

editorials  attacking  political  opponents  of  the  idea  of  statehood  filled 
its  columns.  About  the  only  news  preserved  for  posterity  in  the 
existing  issues  of  the  Gazette  is  what  may  be  gleaned  from  paid  ad- 
vertisements and  notices. 

Bradford  became  one  of  Lexington's  leading  citizens.  He  served 
several  terms  in  the  town  council,  was  for  many  years  a  trustee  of 
Transylvania  University,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  high  sheriff 
of  Fayette  County.  He  not  only  published  the  Gazette  but  issued 
many  books  and  pamphlets.  In  1788  he  published  the  first  Kentucky 
Almanac,  and  later  the  first  acts  of  the  legislature  and  Bradford's  Laws. 

The  second  newspaper  to  appear  was  the  Kentucky  Herald,  published 
in  1793,  also  at  Lexington,  by  James  H.  Stewart.  It  had  a  short  life, 
but  was  revived  in  1797  at  Paris  and  became  the  first  newspaper  of 
Bourbon  County.  The  Kentucky  Mirror,  published  at  Washington 
under  the  editorship  of  William  Hunter,  appeared  in  the  same  year. 
Hunter  was  elected  State  printer  in  1798  and  moved  the  Mirror  to 
Frankfort,  where  it  was  published  by  the  Kentucky  Journal,  begun 
in  1795  by  Benjamin  J.  Bradford.  Hunter  and  Bradford  established 
the  Palladium  in  1798,  and  the  Mirror  was  discontinued  in  1799.  Dur- 
ing the  next  thirty-five  years  dozens  of  newspapers  sprang  up  in  vil- 
lages and  towns  throughout  the  State.  Many  of  them  lived  for  only 
a  short  time  and  were  of  no  consequence.  The  only  factual  evidence 
that  some  of  these  papers  actually  existed  is  found  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  early  legislatures,  which  authorized  the  publication  of  State  ad- 
vertisements in  them. 

The  first  newspaper  that  can  be  considered  a  success  was  the  Ad- 
vertiser, established  in  Louisville  in  1818  and  edited  by  Shadrach 
Penn.  In  1826  it  became  the  first  daily  paper  in  the  West.  Politically 
it  was  Democratic  and  supported  Andrew  Jackson  for  the  Presidency 
in  1828.  Penn  was  an  able  and  virile  editor,  feared  by  his  enemies. 
But  in  1830  he  encountered  his  equal  in  George  D.  Prentice,  a  young 
New  Englander,  who  had  been  sent  to  Kentucky  by  the  Whigs  to 
write  a  biography  of  Henry  Clay  for  campaign  purposes.  Prentice 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Kentucky  Whigs  and  was  persuaded  to 
accept  the  editorship  of  the  newly  established  Whig  organ,  the  Louis- 
ville Journal.  An  editorial  battle  began  at  once  between  the  Demo- 
crats, represented  by  Penn  in  the  Advertiser,  and  the  Whigs,  repre- 
sented by  Prentice  in  the  Journal.  Penn  went  down  in  defeat  in  1841, 
discontinued  the  Advertiser,  and  moved  to  St.  Louis. 

The  Journal  from  its  beginning  in  November  1830  enjoyed  a  large 


iO4         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

circulation,  and  for  more  than  forty  years  Prentice  edited  it  and  fought 
consistently  and  courageously  for  the  Whig  Party.  He  was  indifferent 
to  the  institution  of  slavery,  but  bitterly  opposed  k  when  war  threat- 
ened, since  he  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the  Union.  Throughout  the 
War  between  the  States,  Prentice  stood  steadfastly  by  the  Union.  In 
1868  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  Journal  and  was  succeeded  by  Henry 
W.  Watterson. 

The  Louisville  Courier,  a  successful  newspaper  more  interested  in 
news  than  editorials,  was  established  in  1844  by  Walter  N.  Haldeman. 
Although  ordinarily  without  strong  editorial  convictions,  it  took  sides 
against  the  North  in  the  War  between  the  States,  and  was  suppressed 
by  Union  forces  in  1861.  For  four  years  it  was  published  in  different 
places  and  under  many  names;  in  1865  it  was  brought  back  to  Louis- 
ville by  the  original  owner  and  re-established. 

A  third  important  Louisville  paper,  the  Louisville  Democrat,  spon- 
sored by  the  Democratic  leader  of  his  time,  James  Guthrie,  was  also 
established  in  1844.  It  was  first  edited  by  Phineas  Kent,  later  by 
John  H.  Harney,  and  existed  until  1868.  In  that  year  the  Journal, 
Courier,  and  Democrat  were  merged  into  one  paper,  the  Courier- 
Journal,  under  the  able  editorship  of  Henry  Watterson.  Under  his 
editorial  leadership  the  Courier- Journal  became  the  outstanding  news- 
paper of  the  State  and  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  South. 

Henry  Watterson  (1840-1921)  was  born  in  Washington,  D.C.,  the 
son  of  a  Tennessee  Congressman.  He  began  his  journalistic  career  on 
Harper's  Weekly,  the  New  York  Times,  and  Horace  Greeley's  New 
York  Tribune.  When  the  storm  of  the  War  between  the  States  began 
to  gather,  Watterson  went  back  to  Tennessee,  his  father's  native  State, 
to  become  associate  editor  of  the  Nashville  Banner.  During  the  war 
he  served  as  a  staff  officer  and  as  chief  of  scouts  in  the  Confederate 
Army.  He  then  spent  a  year  in  Europe,  and  returned  to  revive  the 
Banner.  His  success  in  this  undertaking  attracted  the  attention  of 
Prentice  of  the  Louisville  Journal;  although  they  had  supported  op- 
posite sides  in  the  War  between  the  States,  Prentice  chose  the  young 
man  as  his  successor.  Watterson  soon  became  the  dean  of  southern 
journalism,  as  Prentice  had  been  before  him. 

Affectionately  known  as  "Marse  Henry,"  Watterson  was  active  in 
Democratic  party  affairs,  a  pleasing  and  forceful  public  speaker,  and 
progressive  in  thought  and  action.  His  literary  style  was  polished  and 
forceful,  and  his  keen,  sometimes  caustic,  pen  roved  from  heated 
political  diatribes  to  scholarly  essays.  One  of  his  favorite  topics  was 


PRESS    AND    RADIO  105 

the  authorship  of  Shakespeare's  works,  which  he  attempted  to  prove 
were  written  by  Christopher  Marlowe.  Although  opposed  to  the  saloon, 
he  did  not  think  prohibition  enforceable  and  considered  it  an  infringe- 
ment of  the  liberties  of  the  American  people.  He  favored  a  restriction 
rather  than  an  extension  of  suffrage,  believing  that  there  already 
existed  an  excess  of  uninformed  voters.  Watterson  won  the  Pulitzer 
Prize  in  1917  for  editorials  celebrating  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  World  War.  Although  a  staunch,  at  times  militant, 
Democrat,  Watterson  opposed  the  League  of  Nations.  On  March  5, 
1919,  he  wrote,  "Government  is  a  hard  and  fast  and  dry  reality.  At 
best  statesmanship  can  only  half  do  the  things  it  would.  Its  aims 
are  most  assured  when  tending  a  little  leeward;  its  footing  safest  on 
its  native  heath.  We  have  plenty  to  do  on  our  own  continent  without 
seeking  to  right  things  on  other  continents." 

In  1884  Walter  N.  Haldeman  established  the  Louisville  Times,  with 
Emmet  Garvin  Logan  and  E.  Polk  Johnson  as  editors.  Logan's  edi- 
torials were  short  and  pithy,  usually  without  headlines,  and  although 
not  finished  and  well  organized  like  the  editorials  of  Watterson,  they 
appealed  to  a  large  constituency.  The  Times  succeeded,  and  it  is 
now  the  only  afternoon  paper  published  in  Louisville. 

Judge  Robert  W.  Bingham  purchased  the  Courier- Journal  and  the 
Times  in  1918.  Watterson  retired  from  the  editorship  of  the  Courier- 
Journal  and  was  succeeded  by  Harrison  Robertson.  Arthur  Krock, 
subsequently  (1923)  compiler  of  Watterson 's  Editorials  and  in  1935 
and  1938  a  Pulitzer  award  winner,  became  the  editor  of  the  Times  and 
was  later  succeeded  by  Tom  Wallace. 

The  Courier- Journal  and  the  Times  have  aggressively  supported  the 
Democratic  Party.  In  1935  Judge  Bingham  was  made  Ambassador  to 
the  Court  of  St.  James's,  where  he  served  until  his  death. 

In  Lexington  the  first  successful  newspaper  was  the  Kentucky  Re- 
porter, established  in  1807  by  William  Worsley  and  Samuel  Overton. 
As  its  name  implied,  it  stressed  local  news  and  was  less  concerned  about 
foreign  affairs  than  its  predecessor,  the  Gazette.  In  1832  the  Reporter 
merged  with  the  Lexington  Observer  and  continued  the  policy  of  em- 
phasizing local  news.  In  politics  it  was  Whig  and  supported  Henry 
Clay.  After  the  War  between  the  States  it  became  a  staunch  Demo- 
cratic organ,  edited  by  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge.  Another  Democratic 
paper  emerged  during  the  Reconstruction  period, — the  Lexington  Press, 
that  city's  first  daily,  established  by  Colonel  Hart  Foster  and  Major 
Henry  T.  Duncan  in  1870.  It  was  later  consolidated  with  the  Lex- 


io6         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

ington  Transcript  and  was  called  the  Lexington  Herald,  with  Desha 
Breckinridge,  son  of  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge,  as  editor  from  1897  to 
1935.  The  Herald  became  an  outstanding  and  aggressive  mouthpiece 
of  the  Democratic  Party  in  the  Bluegrass. 

The  Lexington  Leader  was  founded  in  1888  as  a  Republican  daily  by 
Samuel  J.  Roberts  of  Canton,  Ohio.  It  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the 
field  of  specialized  news  and  departments  for  family  reading.  In  1937 
its  owner  purchased  the  Herald  and  published  both  papers  from  the 
same  press  without  disturbing  the  political  policy  or  integrity  of  either. 

Many  newspapers  in  Kentucky — such  as  the  Owensboro  Messenger, 
established  by  Urey  Woodson  in  1881,  and  the  Frankfort  Daily  and 
Weekly  Commonwealth,  published  by  Albert  Gallatin  Hodges — have 
had  brilliant  careers  editorially.  In  most  instances  the  newspaper  was 
the  editor,  and  the  editor  was  the  newspaper.  A  Kentuckian,  for 
example,  can  hardly  think  of  the  Courier- Journal  without  thinking  of 
Henry  Watterson.  These  editors  were  born  writers  without  formal 
training  in  schools  or  colleges  of  journalism.  They  fought  for  ideas  and 
issues  with  their  pens,  and  seldom  yielded  any  ground.  They  had  no 
press  associations  where  they  exchanged  views  and  contributed  to  each 
other's  welfare. 

This  situation  was  characteristic  of  the  Kentucky  press  until  very 
recent  years.  The  newspaper  business,  however,  has  become  more  and 
more  complex  and  demands  specialized  training.  In  response  to  this 
demand,  the  University  of  Kentucky  has  developed  its  school  of  jour- 
nalism and  sponsors  the  well-organized  Kentucky  Press  Association. 
In  addition  to  its  annual  meetings,  sectional  gatherings,  where  editors 
and  business  managers  discuss  their  mutual  problems,  are  held  in 
various  parts  of  the  State  from  time  to  time. 


Radio 


Anxious  listeners  in  both  America  and  Europe,  hearing  over  the  air 
waves  the  incessant  plea  "Send  a  boat"  during  the  1937  flood  disaster, 
realized  that  radio,  in  that  tragic  hour,  was  an  integral  part  of  Ken- 
tucky life. 

On  Sunday,  January  24,  1937,  Louisville  lay  submerged,  with  only 


PRESS    AND    RADIO  IO7 

a  skeleton  telephone  service,  and  in  near  darkness.  The  order  had 
been  issued  that  what  remained  of  electric  power  must  be  rationed. 
Hospitals  and  broadcasting  stations  awaited  from  moment  to  moment 
the  interruption  of  all  power.  Station  WHAS  must  be  kept  on  the  air 
until  a  hook-up  with  WSM  could  be  completed,  and  Nashville  was 
ready  to  take  up  broadcasting  with  the  least  possible  delay.  Marooned 
people  heard  that  an  equipment  truck  from  Nashville  had  gone  astray, 
that  power  was  failing  rapidly;  they  listened  to  offers  of  aid  from  all 
over  the  country;  at  last  came  word  that  Nashville  was  standing  by. 
A  few  moments  before  1  A.M.,  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence,  the  tired 
voice  of  Louisville's  announcer  halted.  Nashville  took  up  the  call — 
"Send  a  boat." 

During  the  emergency  period  Station  WHAS  never  left  the  air,  put- 
ting on  approximately  115,000  broadcasts  in  18 7^  hours  of  uninter- 
rupted service.  It  served  as  nerve  center  of  the  volunteer  network  that 
carried  official  flood  news.  All  relief  work  was  directed  through  WHAS. 
The  chain  included  WAVE  of  Louisville,  WCKY  at  Covington,  WPAD 
at  Paducah,  WLAP  at  Lexington,  WOMI  at  Owensboro,  and  WCMI 
at  Ashland,  in  addition  to  WSM  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  WFBM 
at  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  Bulletins  sent  out  calls  for  doctors,  medical 
aid,  food,  and  resources. 

On  January  25  a  three-way  telephone  conversation  among  WHAS, 
Columbia  Broadcasting  System,  and  National  Broadcasting  Company, 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  network  covering  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  The  British  Broadcasting  System  and,  later,  other  foreign 
networks  were  included.  This  tied  in  approximately  5,000  short-wave 
stations  throughout  the  world,  the  largest  network  ever  established  in 
the  history  of  radio.  All  directions  emanated  from  Station  WHAS. 
Volunteer  sound  equipment  units  went  as  near  the  flooded  areas  as  pos- 
sible to  amplify  directions  to  rescue  workers  through  loud  speakers. 
The  resultant  saving  in  life  and  property  cannot  be  estimated. 

The  flood  reached  its  crest  on  January  27.  The  waters  receded; 
reconstruction  work  commenced;  life  resumed  its  normal  course.  On 
the  second  Saturday  of  May  sports  commentators  at  Churchill  Downs 
were  broadcasting  the  Kentucky  Derby. 

Radio  experimentation  in  Kentucky  began  in  the  late  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. About  1892,  in  the  little  town  of  Murray,  a  wireless  telephone 
was  successfully  demonstrated  before  an  audience  of  1,000  persons. 
The  crude  radio  consisted  of  a  rough  box,  some  telephone  equipment, 


io8         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

rods,  and  a  coil  of  wire,  and  was  the  invention  of  a  farmer,  Nathan 
B.  Stubblefield. 

In  1902  Stubblefield  went  by  invitation  to  Washington,  where  he 
broadcast  for  a  group  of  prominent  scientists  from  the  steam  launch 
"Bartholdi."  The  same  year  he  gave  a  demonstration  in  Philadelphia 
from  Belmont  mansion  and  from  Fairmont  Park,  projecting  his  voice 
more  than  a  mile  by  wireless. 

The  St.  Louis  Post  Dispatch,  in  a  full-page  article  on  January  12, 
1902,  said:  "However  undeveloped  his  system  may  be,  Nathan  B.  Stub- 
blefield, the  farmer  inventor  of  Kentucky,  has  accurately  discovered 
the  principle  of  telephoning  without  wires." 

Through  an  attorney,  Rainey  Wells,  he  secured  patents  in  the  United 
States,  Canada,  England,  France,  Spain,  and  Belgium.  To  raise  capital 
for  marketing  his  invention  he  had  sold  stock,  in  1900,  to  a  small  group 
of  friends.  The  end  of  Stubblefield's  business  career  is  shrouded  in 
mystery.  He  advised  his  friends  to  withdraw  such  funds  as  they  had 
invested,  hinting  darkly  of  the  rascality  of  certain  eastern  associates. 
But  to  none  of  them  did  he  give  concrete  information.  An  old  trunk, 
in  which  he  kept  the  invention  and  the  documents  concerning  it,  was 
not  with  him  when  he  subsequently  returned  from  the  East,  broken  and 
embittered,  to  Murray.  Whether  it  was  a  case  of  open  theft,  or 
whether  he  had  been  the  dupe  of  unscrupulous  manipulators,  was  never 
known.  He  continued  his  experiments  with  wireless  in  a  two-room 
shack  of  his  own  construction.  Cornshucks  provided  protection  against 
rain  and  cold.  Offers  of  neighborly  aid  were  refused,  an  estranged 
family  was  spurned.  On  March  28,  1928,  the  body  of  Stubblefield  was 
found  in  his  shack;  he  had  apparently  been  dead  about  forty-eight 
hours. 

The  State's  present  radio  stations  have  all  developed  since  1922, 
when  an  amateur  station  was  licensed  as  WLAP  (now  in  Lexington), 
and  WHAS,  now  part  of  the  Columbia  System,  went  on  the  air  in 
Louisville.  The  National  Broadcasting  System  is  represented  by 
WAVE,  in  Louisville.  Station  WCKY  is  in  Covington,  WPAD  in 
Paducah,  WOMI  in  Owensboro,  and  WCMI  in  Ashland.  WGRC, 
the  George  Rogers  Clark  Station,  has  studios  in  Louisville,  as  well  as 
in  New  Albany  and  Jeffersonville,  Indiana. 

Kentucky,  because  of  its  topography,  offers  unusual  opportunities  for 
radio  experimentation.  Although  it  was  known  by  1923  that  the  human 
voice,  without  the  aid  of  wires,  could  encircle  the  earth,  there  remained 
doubt  as  to  whether  radio  could  penetrate  the  depths  of  the  earth  as 


PRESS    AND    RADIO  IOQ 

well.  Radio  history  was  made  on  July  21,  1923,  when  a  successful 
broadcast  was  sent  out  from  Mammoth  Cave  at  a  depth  of  378  feet. 
That  morning  a  junior  operator,  with  assistant  and  guide,  entered  the 
cave.  The  personnel  of  Station  WHAS  in  Louisville  was  standing 
ready  to  send  vocal  signals  at  given  hours.  The  first  attempts  were 
complete  failures.  The  crust  of  century-old  dust  made  it  impracticable 
to  drive  the  ground  spike.  Walls  and  ceilings  dripping  with  moisture 
became  natural  conductors  with  a  tendency  to  absorb  the  signals  be- 
fore they  reached  the  aerial.  At  length  a  spot  was  found  where  walls 
were  dry  and  the  path  slightly  moist.  By  mid-afternoon  WHAS  came 
in  with  surprising  volume  and  complete  absence  of  static. 

The  mountains  and  remote  country  sections  also  provide  territory 
for  radio  development.  One  of  the  most  interesting  experiments  is  that 
of  the  Mountain  Listening  Centers.  Broadcasts  arranged  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Kentucky  and  made  possible  by  private  contributors,  with 
the  co-operation  of  the  National  Youth  Administration,  supplement 
other  forms  of  educational  work  among  the  Kentucky  mountaineers. 

On  October  21,  1934,  a  series  of  Sunday  morning  broadcasts  from 
the  Jefferson  County  Jail  was  inaugurated  by  the  Volunteers  of 
America,  with  Major  W.  O.  Ulrey  in  charge,  and  Lillian  B.  Ulrey  as 
soloist.  A  tiny  organ  was  used  at  first,  but  has  since  been  replaced  by 
a  larger  electric  organ.  These  broadcasts  are  heard  in  jails  and  penal 
institutions  in  101  Kentucky  counties  and  in  seven  State  prisons,  in- 
cluding those  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Tennessee,  and  Michigan.  Thousands 
of  prisoners,  their  friends,  and  relatives  have  written  to  the  broad- 
casters who  perform  this  service. 

Interest  in  television  was  evident  in  Kentucky  as  early  as  1929,  when 
Station  WHAS  began  experimentation,  though  it  had  at  that  time  a 
power  of  only  a  fifth  of  its  present  50,000  watts. 


THE  ARTS 

The  Theater 


E  FIRST  record  of  public  amusement  in  Kentucky,  was  an  ad- 
L  vertisement  of  May  31,  1797,  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette,  a  Lexing- 
ton paper.  It  announced  that  "a  room  for  exhibition  purposes"  had 
been  erected  adjoining  Coleman's  Tavern  for  "an  exhibition  of  tum- 
bling, balancing  on  slack  wire,  slack  rope  walking  and  dancing.  Admis- 
sion to  pit,  2  shillings,  to  gallery,  2  shillings,  2  pence.  Doors  open  at 
sunset,  performance  beginning  at  dark." 

Not  until  January  1,  1802,  however,  did  theater  items  begin  to  ap- 
pear in  the  Gazette,  nor  was  the  location  of  the  building,  corner  of 
Spring  and  Vine  Streets,  given  until  June  25,  1811.  The  owner  was 
Luke  Usher,  who  was  probably  the  first  theatrical  manager  in  central 
Kentucky;  he  also  controlled  houses  at  Frankfort  and  Louisville  and 
sent  his  actors  from  one  town  to  the  other,  as  business  justified.  Noble 
Luke  Usher,  nephew  of  the  theater  owner  and  a  Shakespearean  actor 
of  some  standing,  joined  the  company  in  1812  with  his  wife,  Harriet 
L'Estrange,  an  actress  of  unusual  attainments  and  charm.  Both  were 
from  the  south  of  Ireland  and  had  been  members  of  a  theatrical  com- 
pany which  included  the  parents  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe.  It  may  be  that 
Poe's  story,  "Fall  of  the  House  of  Usher,"  was  based  on  some  tradition 
of  this  family. 

The  theater  of  Kentucky  was  of  little  consequence  until  the  coming 
of  the  Drake  family  and  their  company.  The  story  opens  in  Albany, 
New  York.  In  1814  Noble  Luke  Usher  arrived  at  the  Albany  Theater 
to  recruit  actors  for  his  houses  in  Kentucky,  then  regarded  as  "the 
Far  West."  The  adventure  appealed  to  Samuel  Drake,  stage  manager ; 
he  agreed  to  get  a  company  together  and  start  for  Kentucky  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  But  the  task  was  difficult,  for  experienced  actors  hesi- 
tated to  make  the  hazardous  journey  into  "the  unknown."  However, 
members  of  Drake's  own  family,  all  actors,  and  young  N.  M.  Ludlow, 
who  had  recently  joined  the  company  to  play  small  parts,  were  eager 
for  the  adventure. 

no 


THE    ARTS  III 

The  party — including  Samuel  Drake;  his  sons,  Samuel,  Jr.,  Alex- 
ander, and  James;  his  daughters,  Martha  and  Julia;  and  Frances  Ann 
Denny,  N.  M.  Ludlow,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis,  and  Joe  Tracy,  a  man 
of  all  work — set  out  in  wagons  from  Canandaigua,  New  York,  late  in 
July  1815.  They  traveled  across  New  York  State,  thence  by  boat  to 
Pittsburgh  where  they  played  for  some  time.  In  November  they 
started  on  their  400-mile  journey  in  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  known  in 
that  day  as  an  "ark"  or  a  "Kentucky  broadhorn."  Floating  down  the 
Ohio  River  to  Limestone  (Maysville),  Kentucky,  they  made  the  re- 
mainder of  the  trip  in  wagons  to  Frankfort.  Here,  in  December  1815, 
Kentucky's  first  real  theatrical  season  opened  with  The  Mountaineer 
by  Coleman,  followed  by  a  farce,  The  Poor  Soldier.  The  season  was 
a  good  one  and  lasted  until  March.  The  players  then  proceeded  by 
private  conveyance  to  Louisville,  a  distance  of  50  miles,  making  the 
trip  in  two  days. 

"On  arriving  in  Louisville,"  wrote  Samuel  Drake,  "we  found  the  peo- 
ple on  the  tiptoe  of  expectation,  and  anxious  for  the  opening  of  the 
season;  but  the  theater  was  not  in  a  position  to  be  occupied;  it  was 
dark,  dingy  and  dirty.  The  scenery  was  badly  painted,  the  auditorium 
was  done  in  the  most  dismal  colors,  and  the  house  badly  provided  with 
means  for  lighting.  In  about  two  weeks  the  theater  had  been  turned 
into  passable  condition  for  the  opening,  and  we  commenced  our  season 
with  Coleman's  comedy,  The  Heir  at  Law,  and  the  comic  opera,  Sprig 
of  Laurel.  The  performance  went  off  with  great  applause,  and  the 
people  appeared  delighted  with  the  company.  This  season  of  ours  in 
Louisville,  I  understand,  was  the  first  that  had  been  made  by  any  the- 
atrical company.  It  lasted  ten  or  eleven  weeks  and  was  undoubtedly 
profitable  to  the  management,  for  the  house  was  well  filled  every 
night.  The  season  closed  with  benefits  for  the  company,  all  of  them 
being  well  attended,  and  this  in  a  town  of  less  than  3,000  inhabitants. 
But  these  people  were  gay,  prosperous  and  fond  of  theatrical  enter- 
tainment." 

Drake's  company  met  with  similar  success  in  Lexington,  where  they 
opened  with  Speed  the  Plough.  The  old  theater  building,  80  feet  long 
by  30  feet  wide,  had  a  lower  floor  with  pit  and  boxes  in  the  London 
style ;  the  seats,  built  up  the  side  of  Spring  Street  hill  and  rising  gradu- 
ally from  the  stage,  were  covered  with  canvas  and  without  backs.  The 
interior  was  plain,  the  scenery  limited  and  badly  painted,  judged  by 
modern  standards.  The  Kentucky  Gazette  in  1812  announced  that 


ii2          KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

"hereafter  the  smoking  of  segars"  in  the  theater  would  be  prohibited; 
but  a  coffee-room  and  bar  "near  the  stage,"  offered  consolation.  The 
most  popular  actors  were  those  who  could  "hold  their  liquor  like  gen- 
tlemen." 

John  Palmer,  in  Travels  in  the  United  States  in  1817,  mentions  at- 
tending a  performance  at  Limestone  (Maysville),  given  by  a  company 
of  strolling  players  from  England.  The  plays,  Honeymoon  and  'Tis  All 
a  Farce,  were  presented  in  a  frame  building  "appropriate  for  theatrical 
purposes.  .  .  .  The  scenery  and  performance  were  miserable,"  he  re- 
ported, "but  the  buffoonery  of  the  farce  and  the  orchestra  of  Negroes, 
who  performed  two  tunes  with  two  fiddles  and  two  triangles,  kept  the 
audience  in  good  humor;  segar  smoking  during  the  performance  was 
practiced  by  most  men." 

Dr.  H.  McMurtrie,  in  his  Sketches  of  Louisville,  described  the  Louis- 
ville theater  of  1819  as  aa  handsome  brick  building  of  three  stories." 
Drake's  playhouse,  called  the  old  City  Theater,  "was  a  very  creditable 
one  and  had  some  features  not  excelled  by  its  successors,"  wrote 
Colonel  John  T.  Gray.  "It  had  a  row  of  private  boxes  occupying  the 
whole  front  of  what  is  now  the  dress  circle,  as  in  the  French  Opera 
House  in  New  Orleans.  They  were  closed  in  the  rear,  having  doors  for 
entrances,  and  open  at  the  front.  The  second  tier  was  open  and  cor- 
responded to  the  latter  day  dress  circle,  while  the  third  was  low  priced 
as  now.  The  pit  was  not  the  choice  place,  as  now,  but  was  occupied 
by  men,  veteran  theater-goers  and  critics.  The  theater  was  lighted 
with  a  grand  chandelier  swung  from  the  dome,  and  with  side  lights,  all 
of  sperm  candles,  and  there  was  never  a  dripping  one." 

Samuel  Drake  successfully  managed  theaters  in  Kentucky  until  1830. 
(He  then  purchased  a  farm  in  Oldham  County,  where  he  died  October 
16,  1854,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.)  His  company  remained  together 
until  about  1835  after  which  some  returned  East,  while  others  joined 
N.  M.  Ludlow,  author  of  Dramatic  Life  as  I  Found  It,  and  head  of  a 
company  which  held  a  prominent  place  in  the  theatrical  world  of  the 
Midwest  until  the  1850's.  Ludlow's  "Kentucky  Comedians"  played 
in  Louisville,  Lexington,  Frankfort,  Harrodsburg,  Danville,  Cincinnati 
and  adjoining  towns.  They  also  ventured  as  far  afield  as  Nashville, 
Natchez,  St.  Louis,  Mobile  and  New  Orleans. 

The  customary  program  of  this  period  consisted  of  a  three-  to  five- 
act  drama,  followed  by  a  two-act  farce  or  comedy;  sometimes  comic 
dialogue  or  musical  solos  were  added  for  good  measure.  Most  in  de- 


THE    ARTS  113 

mand,  judging  by  advertising  and  requests  for  return  performances, 
were:  The  Soldier's  Daughter,  The  Rivals,  The  Wheel  of  Fortune, 
Animal  Magnetism,  or  the  Doctor  Outwitted,  Matrimony,  or  the 
Happy  Imprisonment,  Love  a  la  Mode,  or  Humors  of  the  Turf,  and 
Raising  the  Wind,  or  How  to  Live  Cheap.  Romantic  dramas  such  as 
Blue  Beard,  or  Female  Curiosity,  Abeallino,  or  the  Venetian  Outlaw, 
Rudolph,  or  Robbers  of  Calabria,  were  enthusiastically  received  time 
and  again.  The  tragedies  most  frequently  advertised  were  The  Re- 
venge, The  Roman  Father,  Barbarossa,  or  Tyrant  of  Algiers,  and 
Macbeth,  Othello,  Romeo  and  Juliet,  Hamlet,  and  Richard  III. 

Sol  Smith,  author  of  Theatrical  Management  in  the  South  and  West, 
and  member  of  a  traveling  company  which  played  in  the  villages 
throughout  central  Kentucky  as  early  as  1829,  calls  attention  to 
Drake's  singular  propensity  for  adding  second  titles  to  plays.  "To  the 
Honeymoon  he  would  add,  or  The  Painter  and  His  Three  Daughters. 
He  always  announced  the  Hunter  of  the  Alps  with  this  addition:  Or 
The  Runaway  Horse  that  Flung  its  Rider  in  the  Forest  of  Savoy." 

Benefits  for  the  actors  were  given  at  the  end  of  the  season  to  pro- 
vide funds  for  idle  months  ahead.  On  these  nights,  friends  bought 
large  blocks  of  tickets,  and  added  to  the  success  of  the  performance 
by  applause.  On  February  6,  1850,  Julia  Dean,  best  remembered  as 
Lucretia  Borgia,  took  a  benefit  at  the  old  City  Theater  in  The  Wreck- 
er's Daughter,  and  Faint  Heart  Never  Won  Fair  Lady.  The  crowd 
was  tremendous;  many  were  turned  away  and  the  occasion  made  the- 
atrical history,  setting  a  mark  often  referred  to  later.  The  Daily 
Journal  went  into  raptures.  "She  is  not  a  mere  machine,"  said  the 
critic,  "moving  first  one  arm  and  then  another,  uttering  mechanical 
things,  but  a  creature  of  fiery  genius  and  passion,  pouring  forth  her 
emotions  from  the  depths  of  an  unburdened  heart."  When  Mrs.  Kent 
took  her  benefit  on  April  11  of  the  same  year  in  Katherine  and  Pe- 
truchio,  an  arrangement  of  Shakespeare's  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  bou- 
quets and  baskets  of  flowers  were  thrown  at  her  feet,  with  money 
hidden  among  the  flowers. 

The  City  Theater  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  May  1843,  and  Louisville 
remained  without  a  theater  until  February  9,  1846,  when  the  new 
Louisville  Theater,  built  on  the  old  site,  opened.  Douglas  Jerrold's 
Time  Works  Wonders  was  presented,  with  Julia  Dean,  granddaughter 
of  old  Samuel  Drake,  playing  Florentine;  The  Widow's  Victim  and 
The  Stagestruck  Chambermaid  were  played  as  after  pieces.  Until  it 
was  abandoned  in  1873  the  Louisville  Theater  housed  the  favorite  ac- 


ii4         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

tors  and  actresses  of  their  day.  Junius  Brutus  Booth  appeared  there 
in  December  1848  in  a  number  of  his  characterizations,  his  Richard  III 
being  spoken  of  as  "full  of  genius,  truth  and  nature."  The  great 
Macready  played  a  week's  engagement  in  April  1848  and  was  said  to 
have  drawn  the  largest  audience  ever  seen  in  the  theater.  The  1860 
season  closed  with  Charlotte  Cushman's  performance  in  The  Stranger. 
Laura  Keene,  the  resourceful  actress-manager,  played  here  with  her 
company  for  three  weeks  in  1863,  presenting  -such  plays  as  She  Stoops 
to  Conquer,  School  for  Scandal,  and  Our  American  Cousin,  in  which 
the  elder  Sothern  later  rose  to  glory.  James  E.  Murdock,  James  K. 
Hackett,  John  McCulloch,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Wallack,  Frank  Mayo, 
and  Clara  Morris  appeared  year  after  year.  In  1872,  when  the  pres- 
tige of  the  old  house  was  already  waning,  Cooper  and  Pyne,  Harrison, 
and  the  New  Orleans  English  Opera  Company  presented  a  series  of 
operas,  and  Strakoscn's  company  with  Christina  Nilsson  filled  a  short 
engagement. 

The  Louisville  Theater  was  abandoned  in  1873  when  Barney  Ma- 
cauley,  who  had  come  to  Louisville  from  Memphis,  Tennessee,  about 
the  time  of  the  War  between  the  States,  offered  his  first  play  in  the 
new  $200,000  theater  which  bore  his  name.  An  old  "dodger"  de- 
scribed the  building  as  "constructed  and  finished  in  the  highest  style 
of  modern  art  ...  and  one  of  the  most  substantial  and  elegant  the- 
aters in  the  world."  The  opening  performance  on  October  13,  1873, 
given  before  a  fashionable  crowd  in  the  high  hats  and  pompadours  of 
the  period,  was  the  play  Extremes,  with  Marie  Bates  starred  as  Lady 
Cosby.  This  marked  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  notable  productions 
that  won  for  Macauley  a  national  reputation. 

Colonel  John  T.  Macauley  succeeded  his  brother  Barney  as  manager 
in  1879  and  retained  the  management  until  his  death  in  1916.  Here 
on  the  night  of  November  27,  1875,  Mary  Anderson,  Louisville's  best 
beloved  actress,  made  her  first  appearance  as  Juliet.  Sarah  Bernhardt 
came  to  Macauley 's  in  1880  during  her  first  American  tour.  It  was  at 
Macauley's  on  December  7,  1883,  that  Helena  Modjeska,  talented  Po- 
lish actress,  appeared  in  Ibsen's  A  Doll's  House,  the  first  presentation 
of  Ibsen  in  America.  Given  under  the  title  of  Thora,  the  name  of  the 
heroine,  now  known  as  Nora,  the  Ibsen  ending  was  replaced  by  a 
"happy"  one.  The  Courier- Journal  critic  reported  a  brilliant  audience. 
The  production,  he  observed,  "was  a  novelty,  curiosity  to  see  Modjeska 
in  a  new  role  as  well  as  admiration  for  the  great  actress"  brought  it 
together.  He  thought  the  tragic  ending  more  consistent  and  predicted 


THE    ARTS  115 

the  play,  which  "lived  through  Modjeska,"  would  never  "be  very 
popular."  Joseph  Jefferson,  Edwin  Booth,  Lawrence  Barrett,  Fanny 
Davenport,  Mrs.  Fiske,  Maggie  Mitchell,  Lotta,  Ada  Rehan,  and  such 
foreign  celebrities  as  Bernhardt,  Salvini  and  Langtry,  appeared  time 
after  time  at  Macauley's  until  Louisville  audiences  knew  them  well 
and  loved  them  all.  The  final  chapter  was  written  at  the  closing  per- 
formance of  the  Malcolm  Fassett  stock  season  on  August  25,  1925. 
Macauley's  was  then  torn  down  to  make  way  for  the  Starks  office  build- 
ing; with  its  passing,  Louisville  lost  one  of  its  most  colorful  and 
glamorous  historical  landmarks. 

Other  theaters  in  Louisville  came  and  went,  but  none  ever  attained 
the  prestige  of  Macauley's.  In  the  nineties  Colonel  Norton  built  a 
huge,  sprawling  auditorium  on  Fifth  Street,  where  prize  fights  and 
Italian  opera  were  housed  indiscriminately.  Mozart  Hall,  on  Fourth 
Street  near  Liberty,  renamed  Woods  in  1863,  was  an  early  amateur 
enterprise,  one  of  the  first  theaters  to  inaugurate  matinees.  Later  this 
theater  became  the  Academy  of  Music,  flourished  briefly  as  the  Theatre 
Comique,  and  then  passed  out  of  existence.  Among  the  other  houses 
were  the  Hopkins,  the  Masonic  Temple,  the  Buckingham  (now  the 
Savoy)  and  the  Gayety — a  vaudeville  house.  The  Brown  Theater  on 
Broadway  took  the  place  of  Macauley's  for  a  brief  while. 

The  glamorous  days  of  stock  companies  and  road  shows  are  over, 
and  today  Louisville  has  no  legitimate  theater.  The  few  noted  actors 
who  still  tour  the  country — such  as  Katharine  Cornell,  Helen  Hayes 
and  Walter  Huston — play  at  the  Memorial  Auditorium. 

The  little  theater  movement,  however,  has  had  a  phenomenal  growth 
in  Kentucky,  dating  from  a  performance  by  the  University  of  Louis- 
ville Players  in  1911.  The  initial  production  of  this  group  was  given 
in  the  old  clinic  of  the  medical  school,  with  a  stage  measuring  eight  by 
twelve  feet.  The  first  regular  season  began  in  1913.  At  the  present 
time  practically  all  the  State  colleges,  the  larger  high  schools,  churches, 
and  many  independent  organizations  have  active  groups  producing 
plays  regularly.  The  Little  Theater,  of  Louisville,  the  Guignol  Thea- 
ter Company,  of  Lexington,  which  owes  much  of  its  success  to  Carol 
Sax,  and  a  club  at  Bowling  Green,  all  give  productions  of  real  merit. 
The  yearly  productions  at  the  Louisville  Municipal  College  for  Negroes 
encourage  dramatic  activity  in  Kentucky's  Negro  schools. 

Boyd  Martin,  dramatic  director  of  the  University  of  Louisville  for 
the  last  25  years  and  dramatic  critic  of  the  Courier -Journal,  is  in 
great  measure  responsible  for  the  activity  of  three  groups  of  players  in 


n6         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Louisville:  the  University  of  Louisville  Players,  The  Players  Club,  and 
the  Alumni  Players.  These  clubs  have  been  recently  combined  as  the 
Little  Theater  Company  of  Louisville.  Five  plays^are  presented  each 
season  at  the  Playhouse  on  Belknap  Campus,  University  of  Louisville. 
Dedicatory  services  for  the  Playhouse,  a  small  Tudor  Gothic  building 
recently  remodeled,  were  held  November  12,  1925,  the  same  year  in 
which  Macauley's  Theater  was  razed.  Here  is  housed  the  gallery  of 
theatrical  pictures  formerly  a  feature  of  Macauley's  lobby,  a  gift  to  the 
University  from  Macauley's  heirs.  The  collection,  begun  when  the  old 
theater  opened  its  doors,  contains  3,000  pictures  of  famous  actors  and 
actresses,  many  of  them  autographed.  The  Guignol  Theater  in  Lex- 
ington, under  the  direction  of  Frank  Fowler,  is  sponsored  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Kentucky  and  offers  five  or  six  plays  during  the  school  term 
and  usually  one  during  the  summer. 

The  newest  and  one  of  the  most  ambitious  adventures  in  theatrical 
entertainment  in  the  State  is  the  open  air  theater  in  Iroquois  Park, 
Louisville,  built  with  the  aid  of  the  Works  Progress  Administration. 
Ground  was  broken  on  April  18,  1938,  and  the  theater  opened  with  a 
performance  of  Naughty  Marietta.  The  seats  are  in  the  open  and  are 
placed  on  natural  terraces  with  a  garden  wall  across  the  back.  The 
permanent  structure  consists  of  stage,  dressing  rooms,  and  offices.  The 
Park  Theatrical  Association,  a  non-profit  organization,  accepts  from  the 
Park  Board  responsibility  for  providing  attractions,  underwriting  the 
project  against  loss,  and  at  the  end  of  each  season,  turns  over  profits, 
if  any,  to  the  city  for  further  improvement  of  the  property.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  the  initial  season  (1938)  showed  a  profit  of  $900.  The 
operas  presented  were:  Naughty  Marietta,  Rose  Marie,  The  Mikado, 
and  Rio  Rita. 


Painting  and  Sculpture 


The  pioneers  who  penetrated  the  Appalachians  could  carry  but 
little  equipment;  and  when  they  settled  on  the  land  they  were  com- 
pelled to  rely  upon  their  manual  skill  for  a  home  and  its  furnish- 
ings. During  the  early  days  handicrafts  supplied  almost  all  necessary 
articles.  Furniture,  utensils,  brooms,  rugs,  quilts,  coverings,  cloth, 


THE    ARTS  117 

baskets,  were  woven,  spun  or  tooled  by  hand.  The  pioneer  women 
picked,  washed,  carded,  and  spun  wool  and  cotton,  and  colored  them 
with  dyes  made  from  clays,  roots,  and  bark. 

Although  utility  is  the  primary  aim  of  the  crafts,  they  stimulate  by 
their  very  nature  the  development  of  the  arts  of  decoration.  The 
homespun  fabrics  were  woven  according  to  both  new  and  traditional 
designs.  The  carving  of  chairs,  stools,  tables,  benches,  and  bedsteads 
produced  in  time  an  indigenous  style.  Coverlets  and  quilts,  objects  of 
special  regard  among  pioneer  women,  were  ornamented  with  colored 
flowers  and  stitching  which  often  reached  a  high  level  of  creative 
design. 

The  pioneer  crafts  declined  with  the  advance  of  roads  and  machine- 
made  goods,  and  by  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  they  had  all 
but  disappeared.  A  few  "pockets"  in  the  mountains  and  valleys  of 
eastern  Kentucky  continued,  however,  to  preserve  the  remnants  of  the 
old  skills.  Recently  a  broad  movement,  in  which  Berea  College  took 
the  lead  in  1893,  has  developed  to  revive  and  stimulate  the  local 
crafts.  Schools  and  centers  have  been  set  up  in  many  parts  of  the 
State  to  encourage  their  practice  and  to  carry  them  forward  in  new 
directions.  Besides  furniture  and  textiles,  ironwork,  poppets  (mountain 
dolls),  dulcimers,  toys,  and  whittled  animals  and  figures  are  among  the 
products  of  the  "contemporary  ancestors." 

The  early  history  of  the  State  was  not,  however,  solely  one  of  fron- 
tier hazards.  Some  of  the  pioneers  who  settled  in  the  soft  lands  of 
central  Kentucky  soon  built  fine  homes,  lived  in  comfort,  and  even 
with  a  degree  of  luxury,  entertained  visitors  from  the  East,  and  fos- 
tered whatever  fine  arts  were  accessible.  Here  the  collection  of  silver- 
ware was  popular,  and  knives,  spoons,  forks,  pitchers,  ladles,  and 
mint  julep  cups  were  fashioned  from  coin  metal.  Asa  Blanchard 
and  Samuel  Ayres  are  among  the  silversmiths  whose  names  have  sur- 
vived. A  good  deal  of  this  early  work  is  still  to  be  found  in  Kentucky, 
including  a  teapot  and  pitcher  made  for  Isaac  Shelby,  first  Governor, 
and  a  service  (dated  1819)  for  General  Green  Clay. 

By  1825  Lexington,  then  the  cultural  center  of  the  State  and  proud 
to  be  known  as  the  " Athens  of  the  West,"  ranked  with  New  Orleans 
as  a  center  for  portrait  painters.  John  Neagle,  who  came  from  Phila- 
delphia in  1818,  found  himself  in  competition  with  a  native  Kentuckian 
already  firmly  established  as  one  of  the  leading  portrait  painters  of  his 
day.  This  was  Matthew  H.  Jouett  (1787-1827),  called  "the  best 
painter  west  of  the  Appalachians." 


n8         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

Jouett  had  been  a  student  of  Gilbert  Stuart  for  several  months,  but 
was  largely  self-taught.  Showing  a  keen  sense  .of  character,  firm  draw- 
ing and  brush  work,  and  a  feeling  for  strong  composition,  his  work  set 
a  standard  for  the  Kentucky  portraitists  who  followed.  Though  but 
fifteen  years  of  his  brief  life  were  devoted  to  painting,  he  left  hundreds 
of  portraits,  which  today  constitute  a  roll  call  of  the  notable  figures  of 
early-Republican  Kentucky.  The  J.  B.  Speed  Memorial  Museum  in 
Louisville  includes  in  its  collection  ten  Kentucky  portraits  by  Jouett; 
Transylvania  College  in  Lexington  has  his  painting  of  Henry  Clay;  and 
the  Kentucky  State  Historical  Society  has  a  number  of  his  canvases, 
including  a  full-length  portrait  of  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  painted 
as  a  memento  of  his  visit  to  Kentucky  in  the  spring  of  1825. 

A  contemporary  of  Jouett,  William  Edward  West  (1788-1857),  son 
of  a  Lexington  inventor  and  silversmith,  studied  under  Sully  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  later  continued  his  education  abroad,  where  he  received 
attention  for  his  portrait  of  Byron.  West  also  made  a  sketch  of  Shelley, 
and  was  commissioned  for  portraits  by  many  well-known  figures  of  his 
day.  In  Paris  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Washington  Irving  and 
became  his  close  friend,  illustrating  his  The  Pride  of  the  Village  and 
Annette  Delabre.  The  career  of  West  is  a  Kentucky  example  of  the 
early  tendency  among  American  artists  to  seek  education  and  a  con- 
genial life  in  the  cities  of  Europe. 

In  sculpture  Italy  was  the  chief  influence  in  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Joel  T.  Hart  (1810-1877),  who  was  born  in  Win- 
chester, spent  many  years  in  Florence.  His  Triumph  of  Chastity  is 
typical  in  style  and  theme  of  the  sculpture  of  the  period.  He  is  per- 
haps most  popularly  known  for  his  statue  of  Henry  Clay  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  a  copy  of  which  stands  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Jefferson  County 
Courthouse  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  Hart  was  associated  with  Gideon 
Shryock  (1802-1880)  in  the  building  of  the  Old  Capitol  at  Frankfort. 

In  contrast  with  these  expatriate  artists,  John  James  Audubon  (1779- 
1851)  and  Chester  Harding  (1792-1866)  established  wide  reputations 
through  their  paintings  of  local  subjects.  Audubon  lived  at  Henderson 
and  at  Louisville  for  several  years,  and  gathered  material  on  the  Ohio 
River  for  his  monumental  Birds  of  America.  The  J.  B.  Speed  Museum 
has  five  portraits  by  him,  and  there  are  numerous  collections  of  Audu- 
bon's  prints  in  Kentucky,  the  largest  of  which  is  housed  in  the  Museum 
in  Audubon  Memorial  Park  at  Henderson. 

Chester  Harding,  who  achieved  a  tremendous  reputation  during  his 
lifetime,  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  but  spent  much  of  his  early  life 


THE    ARTS 

wandering  in  the  newly  settled  territories.  He  arrived  in  Paris,  Ken- 
tucky, about  1818  when  portraits  were  much  in  demand.  Later  he 
went  to  Missouri  and  painted  the  picture  of  Daniel  Boone,  which  hangs 
in  the  Filson  Club  in  Louisville. 

Other  Kentucky  painters  of  this  epoch  were  Joseph  H.  Bush  (1794- 
1865);  John  Grimes  (1799-1837),  a  pupil  of  Jouett;  Oliver  Frazer 
(1808-1864);  and  E.  F.  Goddard,  who  settled  in  Georgetown  about 
1840.  Edward  Troye  (1804-1874),  a  Swiss  who  arrived  in  America  in 
1828,  achieved  much  renown  as  a  painter  of  horses.  James  Reid 
Lambdin  (1807-1889),  famous  for  his  portraits  of  American  Presi- 
dents, moved  to  Louisville  in  1832. 

Frank  Duveneck  (1848-1919),  outstanding  American  painter,  sculp- 
tor, etcher,  and  teacher,  was  born  in  Covington.  During  a  prolonged 
period  of  study  at  Munich,  he  absorbed  the  new  brushwork  technique 
of  that  school,  and  on  his  return  to  America  became  a  leading  influence 
of  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  his  later  years  he 
served  as  Dean  of  the  Cincinnati  Art  School  and  made  his  home  per- 
manently in  Covington.  In  St.  Mary's  Cathedral  in  Covington  are 
some  large  murals  by  Duveneck,  Crucifixion,  Christ  at  Emmaus,  and 
others  painted  about  1910. 

Alfred  L.  Brennan  (1853-1921),  born  in  Louisville,  was  known  for 
his  illustrations.  Charles  Courtney  Curran,  winner  of  many  prizes  and 
medals  both  in  America  and  abroad,  was  born  in  Hartford,  Kentucky, 
in  1861.  Charles  Sneed  Williams  (b.  1882)  is  represented  at  the  State 
Capitol,  the  Kentucky  State  Historical  Society,  and  the  Speed  Memo- 
rial Museum.  Enid  Yandell  (1870-1934),  whose  work  in  sculpture  is 
well  known,  was  a  native  of  Louisville.  Her  Daniel  Boone,  a  character 
study,  first  exhibited  at  the  Chicago  Fair  in  1893,  stands  in  Cherokee 
Park  in  Louisville.  Near  by  is  Hogan  Fountain  also  designed  and 
executed  by  her. 

Paul  Sawyier  (d.  1917)  painted  views  along  the  Kentucky  and  Dix 
Rivers  above  Frankfort.  His  water  colors  and  oils  are  subjective  in- 
terpretations, rich  in  atmosphere  and  feeling.  Dean  Cornwell,  who  has 
achieved  a  reputation  as  an  illustrator  and  mural  painter,  was  born  in 
Louisville  in  1892  and  received  his  first  instruction  in  art  there;  his 
work  has  been  exhibited  at  the  Speed  Museum.  Charles  Warner  Wil- 
liams, an  example  of  whose  work  is  to  be  seen  at  Berea  College,  was 
born  in  Henderson  in  1903. 

In  recent  years  a  number  of  public  monuments  have  been  dedicated 
in  the  State.  A.  A.  Weinman's  (b.  1870)  seated  Lincoln  is  in  the 


120         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

public  square  at  Hodgenville,  and  another  Lincoln,  in  a  standing  pos- 
ture, by  the  same  artist,  is  in  the  rotunda  of  the  State  Capitol  at  Frank- 
fort. A  replica  of  George  Gray  Barnard's  colossal  Lincoln  at  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  stands  in  the  grounds  of  Louisville's  Public  Library.  The 
statue  of  William  Goebel  in  front  of  the  Capitol  grounds  in  Frankfort 
is  by  Charles  N.  Niehaus  (1855-1935),  and  one  of  James  Kennedy 
Patterson  on  the  campus  of  the  University  of  Kentucky  is  the  work  of 
Augustus  Lukeman  (1871-1935).  A  bronze  statue  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, a  work  of  much  imagination  by  Moses  Jacob  Ezekiel  (1844-1917), 
stands  in  front  of  the  Jefferson  County  Courthouse  in  Louisville. 
George  Rogers  Clark's  departure  from  Fort  Harrod  on  the  expedition 
that  was  to  win  the  Northwest  Territory  is  commemorated  at  Harrods- 
burg,  the  site  of  Fort  Harrod,  by  a  high-relief  done  in  granite  by  Ulric 
Ellerhusen  (b.  1879).  Other  Kentucky  monuments  are  the  statue  of 
John  B.  Castleman  by  Roland  Huston  Perry,  a  memorial  to  Governor 
H.  Clay  Egbert  by  John  Carlisle  Meyenberg,  and  the  Charles  J. 
Duncan  Memorial  by  George  Julian  Zolnay — all  in  Louisville. 

Of  major  interest  is  the  current  revival  of  mural  painting.  The 
Marine  Hospital  in  Louisville  has  a  series  of  panels  by  Henrick  M. 
Mayer,  executed  under  the  section  of  painting  and  sculpture  of  the 
Federal  Treasury  Department,  dramatizing  the  Ohio  River  steamboat 
trade  of  half  a  century  ago.  In  the  lobby  of  the  Seelbach  Hotel, 
Louisville,  is  a  series  of  murals  by  Arthur  Thomas,  depicting  the  pio- 
neer life  and  history  of  Kentucky  and  Northwest  Territories.  In  the 
Federal  Building  at  Louisville,  the  postal  service  and  Kentucky  indus- 
tries are  shown  in  a  group  of  decorations  by  Frank  Long,  whose  two 
murals  at  the  University  of  Kentucky  Library  are  a  vigorous  interpre- 
tation of  rural  and  mountain  life.  In  the  foyer  of  the  University's 
Memorial  Hall  is  a  fresco  by  Ann  Rice,  the  only  example  of  this  me- 
dium in  the  State.  In  Louisville  two  murals  by  Ferdinand  G.  Walker 
are  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  and  the  State  Capitol  at  Frankfort  has 
murals  by  Gilbert  White. 

Several  nationally  known  cartoonists  and  caricaturists — including 
Fontaine  Fox,  Wyncie  King,  and  Paul  Plaschke — are  from  Kentucky. 
In  the  field  of  "popular"  art,  paintings,  prints,  tombstones,  and  monu- 
ments of  horses  are  among  Kentucky's  interesting  contributions.  A 
life-size  bronze  stands  over  the  grave  of  Fair  Play,  great  sire  of  the 
Elmendorf  Farm,  the  central  Kentucky  estate  of  Joseph  Widener.  At 
Hamburg  Place,  the  property  of  Ed  Madden,  is  a  graveyard  enclosed 
by  a  gray  stone  fence,  horseshoe-shaped;  here  are  buried  many  famous 


THE    ARTS  121 

Madden  runners,  including  Nancy  Hanks,  champion  trotting  mare.  At 
Colonel  E.  R.  Bradley 's  place,  near  Lexington,  a  small  bronze  statue 
has  been  erected  over  the  grave  of  North  Star  III. 

The  Federal  Art  Project,  started  in  February  1936,  has  worked  to 
promote  the  development  of  native  talent.  Besides  its  other  activities, 
the  project  has  made  valuable  reproductions  of  old  furniture  and  de- 
signs with  the  aim  of  perpetuating  the  tradition  and  accomplishments 
of  early  Kentucky  craftsmen. 


Literature 


Since  Kentucky  was  admitted  to  the  Union  as  early  as  1792  it 
might  be  assumed  that  its  literary  development  would,  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  parallel  that  of  the  new  Nation,  moving  through  a  protean 
romanticism  to  an  equally  protean  realism.  And  that,  up  to  a  certain 
point,  and  with  modifications  imposed  by  its  sectional  character,  is  pre- 
cisely what  Kentucky  literature  has  done. 

To  a  population  whose  booklovers  had  been  reared  pretty  largely  in 
the  traditions  of  Walter  Scott  and  Lord  Byron,  a  love  for  historical  fic- 
tion, for  florid  oratory,  for  the  passionate  expression  of  emotion,  came 
without  much  effort.  Its  liking  for  the  Gothic  elements  of  narrative 
has  not  yet  been  wholly  satisfied,  and  from  Catharine  A.  Warfield's 
The  Romance  of  Beauseincourt  (1867)  through  Robert  Burns  Wilson's 
Until  the  Day  Break  (1900),  down  to  the  detective  novels  of  the  late 
Foxhall  Daingerfield,  Kentuckians  have  enjoyed  the  stock  materials 
which  arouse  horror  and  mystery.  This  sensationalism,  growing  out 
of  an  essentially  aristocratic  attitude,  is  a  minor  trait  of  Kentucky  lit- 
erature, to  be  sure.  The  spread  of  democratic  feeling  in  a  State  which 
was,  despite  any  pretensions  to  the  contrary,  founded  upon  a  midwest- 
ern  democracy,  was  inevitable ;  by  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
books  which  had  the  best  chance  to  succeed  in  Kentucky  were  those 
which  had  not  a  little  relation  to  actualities — books  which  preserved 
the  homely  manners,  the  homely  humor,  and  the  homely  dialect  of  its 
people.  Out  of  this  regionalism — qualified,  it  is  important  to  note,  by 
a  gentility  which  survived  from  the  height  of  the  romantic  movement — 
came  the  impetus  for  the  most  noted  of  Kentucky's  novelists. 


122         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

The  first  of  these,  and  the  one  that  should  be  read  first  by  the  visitor 
to  Kentucky,  is  James  Lane  Allen.  Born  near  Lexington  in  1849,  he 
located  the  scenes  for  fifteen  of  his  nineteen  books  in  the  Bluegrass  of 
his  native  State.  His  second  volume,  The  Blue-grass  Region  of  Ken- 
tucky (1892),  was  an  account  of  Kentucky  landscapes,  houses,  people, 
and  manners,  with  a  nostalgic  longing  for  a  culture  which  had  died 
during  the  War  between  the  States.  In  his  fiction  Allen  made  the  cen- 
tral plateau  of  Kentucky  as  familiar  to  the  national  public  as  any  other 
section  popularized  by  any  author.  If  the  name  of  Kentucky  is  today 
an  alluring  one,  it  is  chiefly  because  of  the  legends  and  facts  that 
cluster  about  the  figure  of  Daniel  Boone,  because  of  the  fading  con- 
vention of  resounding  public  speech,  because  of  the  genuine  balladry 
of  the  mountains  and  the  simulated  balladry  of  Stephen  Collins  Foster, 
and  because  James  Lane  Allen  wrote  such  novels  as  A  Kentucky  Car- 
dinal (1895),  The  Choir  Invisible  (1897),  and  The  Reign  of  Law 
(1900). 

Allen  began  by  following  in  the  steps  of  the  local  colorists.  Before 
the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  he  passed  on  into  a  realism  in- 
spired by  his  reading  and  by  a  maturing  philosophy,  a  realism  which 
eventually  shocked  and  alienated  his  readers,  especially  his  Kentucky 
readers.  Disturbed  by  the  antagonism  and  condemnation  he  had  in- 
spired, Allen  turned  back  briefly  to  romance,  then  experimented  with 
a  realism  deeply  colored  by  symbolism,  and  ended  with  narratives 
which  he  intended  to  transcend  all  schools.  Much  of  what  he  wrote 
is  now  forgotten;  much  will  never  have  value  save  for  the  student  and 
historian.  But  Allen  did  preserve,  in  a  style  which  became  progres- 
sively imposing  and  artificial,  many  scenes  and  people,  and  customs 
which  anyone  who  wishes  to  know  the  Bluegrass  must  read.  Note,  for 
example,  what  tinges  of  romance  his  early  "The  White  Cowl"  and 
"  Sister  Dolor osa"  add  to  the  Trappist  monastery  of  Gethsemane  and 
the  convent  at  Loretto.  One  should  read  The  Choir  Invisible  for  an  un- 
matched re-creation  of  the  idealism  of  the  best  Bluegrass  blood  of  a 
former  age.  A  reading  of  "King  Solomon  of  Kentucky"  and  "Two 
Gentlemen  of  Kentucky"  will  add  sentimental  interest  to  any  stay  at 
Lexington.  Allen's  writing  after  1910  failed  to  win  critical  or  popular 
approval;  today  it  is  little  known  and  probably  on  the  way  to  oblivion. 
This  decline  was  owing,  as  intimated,  to  the  fact  that  he  became  the 
victim  of  his  precious  style,  and  to  the  additional  fact  that  he  was  un- 
willing to  throw  off  his  mantle  of  gentility.  Before  he  died  in  1925  he 
had  outlived  both  his  fame  and  his  once  sizeable  earnings. 


THE    ARTS  123 

Influenced  at  the  outset  by  James  Lane  Allen,  John  Fox,  Jr.,  man- 
aged to  combine  romance  and  realism  more  shrewdly,  more  palatably. 
Born  near  Paris  in  1863,  Fox  later  made  his  home  in  the  highlands 
which  meet  on  the  borders  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky  at  Big  Stone  Gap. 
Here  he  found  the  material  which  put  two  of  his  novels  among  the 
best-selling  American  books  of  all  time:  The  Little  Shepherd  of  King- 
dom Come  (1903)  and  The  Trail  of  the  Lonesome  Pine  (1908).  The 
material,  of  course,  was  the  mountaineer  and  his  manners.  In  narra- 
tive these  novels,  perhaps,  surpass  anything  Allen  wrote;  indeed,  The 
Trail  builds  a  climax  which  most  novelists  would  be  glad  to  equal.  A 
pupil  of  the  regional  writers,  Fox  met  the  demands  of  his  generation 
by  idealizations  of  character  which  now  provoke  skepticism.  Commen- 
tators are  likely  to  complain  of  the  romanticism  which  made  the  primi- 
tive mountaineer  a  nobler  individual  than  the  inheritor  of  Bluegrass 
civilization.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mountain  people  protest  that  his 
representations  of  them  are  unfair  and  untrue,  particularly  as  he  em- 
phasizes feuds,  lawlessness,  and  moonshining.  Like  Allen,  Fox  found 
his  literary  reputation  waning  before  he  died  in  1919.  Authors  who 
put  their  trust  in  regionalism  are  likely  to  find  their  material  limited, 
their  themes  repetitious. 

This  is  the  peril  confronting  Elizabeth  Madox  Roberts,  born  near 
Perryville  in  1885,  who  writes  not  of  the  mountaineers,  as  most  eastern 
reviewers  take  for  granted,  but  of  the  farmers  southward  from  Louis- 
ville. Miss  Roberts  is  at  her  best  when  most  subjective;  perhaps  no 
living  American  writer  has  more  truthfully  explored  the  consciousness 
of  the  adolescent  girl,  of  the  lonely  and  poetic  woman.  Her  first 
volume  was  verse,  Under  the  Tree  (1922),  now  very  rare.  She  has  also 
attempted  the  historical  novel  in  The  Great  Meadow  (1930),  which  in- 
troduces Boone  and  what  is  now  Harrodsburg,  and  satire  upon  the 
contemporary  scene  in  the  obscure  but  not  doctrinnaire  Jingling  in  the 
Wind  (1928)  and  He  Sent  Forth  a  Raven  (1935).  Her  latest  story, 
Black  is  My  Truelove's  Hair  (1938),  is  a  tragi-comedy  of  the  Ken- 
tucky countryside.  No  well-read  person  will  be  unacquainted  with  her 
first  novel,  The  Time  of  Man  (1926),  which  in  its  universality  has  the 
earmark  of  a  classic. 

Irvin  S.  Cobb,  also  an  offspring  of  the  regionalists,  will  escape  their 
fate  by  virtue  of  his  humor  and  because  he  has  created  one  of  the  most 
lovable  heroes,  the  canny,  benevolent  Judge  Priest.  Cobb  describes  a 
still  different  section  of  Kentucky — the  Purchase,  whose  capital  is 
Paducah,  where  he  was  born  in  1876.  He  captures  and  reveals  with 


124         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

sometimes  irrelevant  details  the  era  of  steamboat  traffic  on  the  Ohio, 
of  leisurely  and  kindly  living  in  southern  provinces.  One  of  the  best- 
paid  of  present-day  story  writers,  he  is  usually  represented  in  antholo- 
gies by  "The  Belled  Buzzard"  and  "Words  and  Music,"  the  latter  per- 
haps his  finest  narrative  so  far. 

Another  Kentuckian  to  produce  a  book  ranking  among  the  best 
sellers  of  all  time  is  Alice  Hegan  Rice,  of  Louisville,  whose  Mrs. 
Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch  (1901)  taught  the  favorite  American 
gospel  that  poverty  can  be  supported  with  courage  and  honor.  The 
scene  is  laid  in  Louisville.  Widely  read,  too,  have  been  the  "Emmy 
Lou"  stories  of  Mrs.  George  Madden  Martin  and  the  "Little  Colonel" 
series  of  Annie  Fellows  Johnston,  both  of  Pewee  Valley. 

Kentucky  regionalism  found  a  virile,  lyrical  voice  in  1935  when  Jesse 
Stuart  (1906—  )  surprised  the  literary  world  with  his  Man  with  a 
Bull-Tongue  Plow,  a  prodigal  book  of  more  than  700  sonnets  about 
"birds,  cornfields,  trees,  wildflowers,  log  shacks,  my  own  people,  val- 
leys and  rivers  and  mists  in  the  valleys."  Often  crude  in  form  and 
mediocre  in  content,  these  musical  sonnets  have  a  refreshing  spon- 
taneity and  a  ringing  sincerity.  Stuart  resorts  to  poetry  to  celebrate 
the  beauties  of  nature  and  an  ancestral  way  of  life  that  he  finds  good, 
but  uses  prose  to  tell  about  the  people  of  the  foothills  of  eastern  Ken- 
tucky. Something  of  their  angularity  is  portrayed  in  some  of  the 
casually  grim  or  profanely  humorous  stories  in  Head  o'  W-Hollow 
(1936).  In  these  stories,  with  their  odd  characters  and  episodes  of 
frustration  and  tragedy,  Stuart  achieves  a  form  of  implicit  criticism  not 
often  found  in  his  poetry.  His  autobiography,  Beyond  Dark  Hills 
(1938),  first  written  while  he  was  attending  college,  is  an  understand- 
ing account  of  the  more  representative  folk  of  his  region — the  hill 
farmers  who  have  wrestled  with  a  tough,  stingy  soil  for  generations,  and 
faced  sickness,  hardship,  isolation  and  death  with  equanimity. 

It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  absence  of  first-rate  poets  among  a 
people  fundamentally  romantic.  The  explanation  probably  lies  in  the 
lack  of  critical  guidance,  in  a  hampering  conservatism,  and  in  the  lack 
of  local  encouragement.  Madison  Cawein,  for  example,  blinded  by  the 
magic  of  Keats  and  Spenser,  could  do  no  better  with  Kentucky  than 
populate  the  woods  near  Louisville  with  fays,  elves,  pixies,  oreads,  and 
the  like;  in  this  process  he  was  too  prolific,  too  oblivious  to  things 
human.  Sometimes  called  the  greatest  nature  poet  of  his  day,  he  died 
disappointed,  convinced  that  his  world  of  dreams  had  been  shattered 
by  pressing  poverty  and  illness.  A  less  melodious  poet  is  Cale  Young 


THE    ARTS  125 

Rice,  of  Louisville,  who  carries  on  the  classical  tradition  of  English 
verse  and  resents  recent  experiments  in  versification.  It  must  be  said 
of  Kentucky  poets,  as  of  the  prose  writers,  that  they  have  failed,  either 
through  lack  of  vision  or  of  courage,  to  give  the  State  the  epical  treat- 
ment in  literature  which  it  deserves. 


Architecture 


Kentucky,  like  most  of  our  western  States,  passed  through  a  pio- 
neering period — the  period  of  the  "clearing"  in  the  timber,  the  stock- 
ade fort,  and  the  Wilderness  Road.  Forests  had  to  be  cleared; 
land  had  to  be  broken;  a  new  domain  had  to  be  brought  under  the 
hand  of  the  plowman.  The  story  of  those  early  parties,  of  their  settle- 
ments here,  of  grim  days  of  privation  and  Indian  peril,  are  eloquently 
recorded  in  the  architecture  of  the  old  stockade  forts  like  Fort  Harrod, 
so  admirably  reconstructed  at  Harrodsburg. 

As  soon  as  the  country  had  been  made  safe  for  settlement,  Ken- 
tucky's virgin  acres  had  to  be  made  to  produce,  and  produce  abun- 
dantly, before  anything  like  a  real  competence  could  be  won  from  the 
soil.  But  the  sturdy  pioneers  did  conquer  the  soil  and  did  establish 
in  the  wilderness  the  foundations  of  a  commonwealth  as  early  as  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

With  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  economy  there  came  a 
second  architectural  expression — the  log  cabin.  These  staunch  and 
rugged  four-square  old  houses,  with  rough-hewn  walls  and  dirt  floors, 
are  emblematic  of  the  type  of  life  which  was  lived  in  them,  and  sym- 
bolic of  the  men  and  women  who  inhabited  them.  Good  examples  of 
the  house  of  this  period  are  the  Marriage  Place  of  Tom  Lincoln  and 
Nancy  Hanks  in  Pioneer  Park  at  Harrodsburg,  and  the  old  Creel 
Cabin  (see  Tour  6)  on  the  Lincoln  birthplace  farm  near  Hodgenville. 

Beginning  with  stockade  forts  and  log  cabins,  architectural  expres- 
sion in  Kentucky  passed  through  successive  phases,  eventually  culmi- 
nating in  the  great  porticoed  brick  mansions  which  lend  so  much  charm 
to  the  countryside. 

Thus  Kentucky  architecture  parallels  the  course  of  architecture  upon 
the  Atlantic  seaboard  with  this  difference;  a  style  or  a  fashion  well 


126         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

known  in  the  maritime  States  will  often  not  make  its  appearance  in 
Kentucky  for  from  10  to  30  years  later.  Once  acclimated,  however, 
such  vogues  are  as  likely  to  persist  here  as  in  other  areas.  It  is,  there- 
fore, not  feasible  to  set  down  the  chronology  for  seaboard  architecture 
and  expect  it  completely  to  apply  to  the  course  of  the  art  in  Kentucky. 

Chronologically  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  the  term  "Colonial,"  so 
far  as  Kentucky  architecture  is  concerned,  can  have  no  historic  con- 
notation and  is  employed  only  to  refer  to  that  variety  of  architecture 
which  arose  upon  the  Atlantic  seaboard  during  the  Colonial  period  and 
belatedly  reached  Kentucky.  Because  of  this  fact  one  should  be  care- 
ful in  the  use  of  the  word.  The  term  is  generally  very  loosely  applied 
to  Kentucky  architecture,  being  used  to  designate  not  only  the  true 
Colonial  but  also  the  porticoed  house  of  the  Greek  Revival,  so  common 
in  the  State.  "Liberty  Hall"  in  Frankfort,  "Federal  Hill"  (see  Tour 
15)  near  Bardstown,  and  the  Benjamin  Gratz  House  in  Lexington  are 
perfect  examples  of  the  Georgian  phase  of  Kentucky  Colonial  and 
should  not  be  confused  with  such  Greek  Revival  examples  as  the  Or- 
lando Brown  House  in  Frankfort,  Beaumont  Inn  (Daughters'  College) 
in  Harrodsburg,  or  old  Centre  College  at  Danville,  Morrison  College 
of  Transylvania,  and  the  Old  Statehouse  at  Frankfort. 

After  the  advent  of  railways  and  the  accompanying  facility  in  the 
exchange  of  ideas  and  materials,  the  development  of  architecture  in 
Kentucky,  particularly  in  the  towns  and  cities,  more  nearly  paralleled 
that  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States.  This  was  especially  true 
after  the  reconstruction  period  that  followed  the  Civil  War. 

The  first  phase  (the  log  cabin)  of  early  Kentucky  architecture  dates 
from  1767  to  1786.  Although  Gabriel  Arthur,  of  Virginia,  appears  to 
have  traversed  territory  now  within  Kentucky  as  early  as  1674,  nothing 
that  can  even  remotely  be  termed  architecture  was  erected  in  the  State 
for  nearly  a  century.  What  purports  to  be  the  ruined  chimney  of  the 
"first  house  in  Kentucky,"  built  by  Dr.  Thomas  Walker  (see  Tour  4 A) 
about  1750,  is  today  preserved  at  the  Walker  State  Park  near  Barbour- 
ville.  The  exact  form  of  this  house  is  not  known,  but  a  log  cabin  in 
the  accepted  style  of  the  day  has  been  erected  to  give  the  visitor  some 
notion  of  Kentucky's  "first  home."  At  the  time  that  Kentucky  was 
being  settled  the  log  cabin  built  of  horizontal  logs  had  long  since  be- 
come the  recognized  type  for  the  pioneer  woodsman.  These  houses 
could  be  built  of  the  timber  taken  from  the  lands  which  the  settlers 
cleared  for  cultivation  and  were,  when  well  "chinked"  with  mud  or 
plaster,  warm  in  winter  and  cool  in  summer.  The  simpler  cabins 


THE    ARTS  127 

usually  consisted  of  one  room,  sometimes  of  two.  Often  two  portions 
of  a  house  were  separated  by  an  open  passageway  or  "dogtrot"  porch, 
as  it  was  sometimes  locally  called.  This  passageway  often  served  as  a 
washroom,  where  extra  wood  for  the  kitchen  fire  and  a  bench  with 
water  pail  and  wash  basin  were  kept. 

Such  cabins  were  usually  constructed  of  round  logs  flattened  upon 
two  sides  in  order  to  make  a  better  joint.  These  were  halved  into 
each  other  at  the  corners,  the  ends  left  to  project  about  a  foot.  If  a 
foundation  was  used,  it  was  of  stone  and  the  massive  fireplace  was  of 
the  same  material.  Above  the  throat  of  the  fireplace  the  chimney  was 
constructed  of  "stocks"  or  logs  carefully  chinked,  at  first  with  clay  but 
later  with  mortar.  In  time  the  "stock"  chimneys,  always  in  danger  of 
burning,  were  replaced  with  stone.  The  roofs  were  at  first  covered 
with  "shucks,"  later  with  bark  "shingles,"  and  finally  with  hand-split 
"shakes"  held  in  place  by  long  poles  secured  at  the  ends.  Often  the 
floors  were  of  dirt,  but  these  were  in  time  replaced  with  "puncheons" 
or  split  logs,  usually  very  uneven  and  sometimes  full  of  splinters.  Be- 
fore glass  was  available  windows  were  protected  by  skins  or  heavy  shut- 
ters. Upon  occasion  oiled  paper  was  used  in  lieu  of  glass,  this  being 
protected  by  wooden  slats.  Kentucky  has  a  wealth  of  examples  coming 
down  from  pioneer  days,  the  old  Creel  cabin  on  the  Lincoln  Birthplace 
farm  being  a  good  example  of  the  more  elaborate  type.  Old  Fort 
Harrod  at  Harrodsburg,  reconstructed  in  1926,  forms  an  easily  acces- 
sible exhibit  of  the  pioneer  stage  of  Kentucky  architecture. 

Succeeding  the  earliest  cabins  just  described  there  appeared  a  more 
refined  variety  of  log  house.  This  was  constructed  of  beautifully  hewn 
squared  logs  carefully  jointed  and  calked.  Stone  foundations  and  stone 
or  brick  chimneys  were  usual,  and  in  general  plan  such  houses  resem- 
bled the  more  adequate  types  left  behind  by  the  settlers  who  came  from 
the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Many  comfortable  and  respectable  looking 
Kentucky  houses  of  this  type  of  construction  are  still  standing,  an 
excellent  example  being  the  Wilmore  Garrett  place  not  far  from  Lex- 
ington. It  is  a  well  proportioned  two-story  house  of  Georgian  Colonial 
lines,  resembling  in  general  character  the  architecture  of  Tuckahoe  in 
Virginia.  The  stairway  ascends  from  a  central  hallway,  the  more  im- 
portant rooms  flanking  the  entry.  This  house,  like  many  another,  was 
covered  with  clapboards  and,  with  the  addition  of  a  classic  portico, 
attained  a  real  gentility.  At  the  rear  of  this  house  a  fine  stone  wing, 
the  next  step  in  the  utilization  of  materials,  is  to  be  seen. 

Stone,  where  it  was  readily  available,  early  became  a  favorite  ma- 


128         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

terial.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  stone  as  an  architectural  material  really 
came  into  prominence  before  the  cabin  type  went  out  of  use.  There 
are  still  extant  many  smaller  stone  houses,  now  long  used  for  Negroes 
or  servants,  that  were  the  habitations  of  the  original  landowners. 
More  genteel  and  commendable  examples  of  stone  construction,  how- 
ever, are  the  fine  old  structures  at  Shakertown  (see  Tour  15),  the  rear 
wing  of  the  Garrett  house  above  mentioned,  and  the  old  DuPuy  farm- 
house below  Versailles  in  Woodford  County;  This  latter  house  is  of 
two  stories  with  a  central  hall,  a  quaint  front  porch,  and  simple  but 
dignified  mantels.  Built  of  cream-gray  Kentucky  "marble"  with  white 
wood  trim  and  green  shutters,  this  staunch  old  house  has  real  distinc- 
tion. 

Georgian  and  Federal  architecture  in  Kentucky  prevailed  from  1786 
to  1825.  In  a  sense  the  advent  of  brick  as  a  structural  material  may 
be  said  to  signalize  the  arrival  of  Georgian  forms  in  Kentucky.  The 
William  Whitley  House  (see  Tour  3)  in  Lincoln  County,  built  in  1786, 
was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Georgian  types,  and  the  "first  brick 
house"  in  the  State.  In  mass  this  structure  is  not  unlike  the  simpler 
two-story  houses  of  old  Virginia  and,  as  in  these,  the  brick  work  is  in 
Flemish  bond  with  dark  headers.  It  was  followed  by  a  brilliant  com- 
pany of  noble  houses,  the  general  arrangement  of  which,  following  the 
models  of  Virginia,  provided  a  broad  central  hall  with  a  stairway  up  to 
a  landing  from  which  it  returned  to  the  second  floor.  Ceilings  were 
high  and  windows  double-hung  with  12-  or  16-paned  sashes. 

Often  Palladian  windows,  an  invention  of  the  Italian  Renaissance 
introduced  through  England  to  America,  were  used  either  over  the  prin- 
cipal portal,  as  at  "Liberty  Hall"  in  Frankfort,  or  for  the  regular  open- 
ing, as  at  the  old  Muldrow  farm  (see  Tour  14)  near  Milner,  and  at  the 
Eliza  Cleveland  house  in  Versailles.  Each  important  room  had  a  beau- 
tiful mantel,  while  an  arch,  spanning  the  central  hall  and  supported 
upon  delicately  fluted  columns,  often  divided  the  hall  into  "front"  and 
"back." 

Perhaps  no  single  example  of  Georgian  architecture  in  Kentucky  is 
better  known  than  "Federal  Hill"  (see  Tour  15)  near  Bardstown. 
Built  in  1795  by  John  Rowan,  this  sedate  but  graceful  home  was 
constructed  of  native  brick  with  stone  foundations,  the  brick  laid  in 
Flemish  bond  but  without  the  dark  headers.  The  main  house,  con- 
sisting of  two  stories  and  a  low  attic,  would  present  the  typical 
Georgian  plan  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  what  would  ordinarily  be 
a  rear  room,  on  the  west  side  of  the  hall,  is  here  replaced  by  a  service 


THE    ARTS  129 

court  which  intervenes  between  the  dining  room  and  the  one-story 
detached  kitchen  wing.  The  house  is  nobly  proportioned,  both  inside 
and  out.  The  windows  are  of  the  generous  12-paned  variety,  while 
long  side  windows,  fitted  with  double-hung  six-paned  sashes,  flank 
the  simple,  classically  enframed  portal. 

A  broad  central  hall,  spanned  by  a  beautiful  arch  carried  upon  deli- 
cately fluted  colonnettes,  leads  through  the  house.  At  the  right,  be- 
yond the  archway,  the  stairway  ascends  to  a  landing  above  the  rear 
door,  from  which  it  returns  on  the  left  of  the  hall  to  the  second  floor. 
At  the  right  as  one  enters  is  the  dining  room;  at  the  left  the  parlor, 
behind  which  is  a  lower  bedroom.  Above,  a  similar  arrangement  pro- 
vides three  bedrooms  with  a  library  over  the  front  hall.  The  parlor, 
dining  room  and  bed  chambers  are  provided  with  mantels,  which  con- 
nect with  chimneys  that  go  up  through  inside  walls.  Each  of  these 
mantels  is  a  splendid  example  of  the  carver's  art. 

A  Georgian  house  quite  similar  in  plan  to  "Federal  Hill"  is  "Liberty 
Hall"  in  Frankfort.  In  this  notable  house,  built  by  the  Honorable 
John  Brown  in  1796,  the  plan  suggested  in  the  remarks  about  "Federal 
Hill"  is  realized;  that  is,  the  central  hall  with  spanning  arch  and  stair- 
way is  flanked  by  two  rooms  on  either  side.  Moreover,  the  kitchen 
wing,  which  at  "Federal  Hill"  is  upon  a  lower  level,  is  here  upon  the 
same  level  and  is  better  related  to  the  house  proper.  "Liberty  Hall" 
therefore  represents  the  full-blown  Georgian  plan. 

Here  also  the  general  mass  of  the  house  has  received  greater  thought 
and  presents,  in  its  pediment-crowned  frontal  bay,  a  motif  quite  usual 
in  the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  houses  of  its  day.  The  portal  is  of 
noble  lines  and  above  it  is  the  handsomest  Palladian  window  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  interior  woodwork,  particularly  the  doors,  windows,  and 
wainscots,  are  chaste  in  proportion  and  classic  in  detail. 

A  charming  Federal  example  is  the  fine  old  house  in  St.  Matthews, 
now  owned  by  Judge  Churchill  Humphrey  (see  Tour  16).  This  house 
has  a  well-designed  central  mass  flanked  by  outlying  wings  connected 
by  lower  links.  In  massing,  this  structure  recalls  the  Maryland  plan- 
tation houses  and  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  "Homewood,"  the 
old  Carroll  mansion  now  on  the  campus  of  Johns  Hopkins  University 
at  Baltimore.  The  beautiful  tetrastyle  portico,  with  its  delicate  attenu- 
ated columns,  makes  a  splendid  entrance  to  the  spacious  arched  front 
hall,  which  leads  into  a  cross  corridor  giving  access  to  the  wings.  In  the 
central  mass  just  beyond  the  cross  corridor  are  the  high-ceilinged 
living  room  at  the  left  and  the  dining  room  at  the  right.  The  wood- 


130         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

work  throughout  the  house  is  as  refined  as  the  frontal  portico,  the 
whole  constituting  an  excellent  example  of  that  simplicity,  lightness, 
and  delicacy  in  carving  that  characterizes  the  "Federal"  era  at  its  best. 
Lovely  mantels  grace  each  room. 

Other  outstanding  examples  of  Georgian  and  Federal  architecture  are 
the  Crittenden  house  in  Frankfort,  "Wickland"  near  Bardstown;  the 
Eliza  Cleveland  and  Lyle  houses  in  Versailles;  "Clay  Hill"  and  the 
Vaught  (Burford)  house,  in  Harrodsburg;  "Castlewood,"  "Woodlawn" 
(see  Tour  4),  and  "Woodstock"  at  Richmond;  "Rose  Hill,"  "Eothan," 
the  John  W.  Hunt  house,  "Loudoun,"  Bodley  House,  and  the  Benjamin 
Gratz  house,  in  Lexington;  Xalapa  Farm  near  Paris;  the  "Grange"  and 
the  Clark  farm  on  the  Paris-Maysville  Pike,  various  brick  houses  in 
Shakertown  (see  Tour  15) ;  the  Colonel  Andrew  Muldrow  house  (see 
Tour  14)  near  Milner;  and  various  lesser,  though  often  as  interesting, 
structures  throughout  the  State. 

The  Greek  Revival  was  tardy  in  reaching  Kentucky.  By  1825,  how- 
ever, Greek  details  were  beginning  to  make  their  appearance  upon 
otherwise  Georgian  structures  and  by  1830,  largely  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Gideon  Shryock,  the  style  was  well  established  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

Shryock,  who  was  born  in  Lexington  where  he  learned  the  practical 
art  of  building  from  his  father,  Mathias  Shryock  (1774-1833),  pur- 
sued the  study  of  architecture  with  William  Strickland  of  Philadelphia, 
who,  in  turn,  had  been  trained  by  Latrobe.  Perhaps  Shryock's  most 
notable  work  is  the  Old  Capitol  (now  the  State  Historical  Society 
Building)  in  Frankfort.  This  beautiful  and  well  proportioned  edifice, 
built  of  Kentucky  "marble,"  immediately  set  a  precedent  for  elegance 
and  dignity  in  public  buildings  in  the  State,  and  did  much  to  stimulate 
interest  in  classic  design.  Other  important  public  structures,  designed 
by  Shryock,  are  Morrison  College,  Lexington,  the  old  Bank  on  Main 
Street,  the  Blind  Institute  and  the  Jefferson  County  Court  House,  all 
in  Louisville. 

The  Greek  influence  in  Kentucky  was  first  apparent  in  classical 
porches,  mantels,  and  other  details,  which  were  used  to  adorn  masses 
otherwise  reminiscent  of  the  past  vogue  in  architecture.  Soon,  however, 
the  masses  themselves  took  on  more  and  more  of  the  Greek  temple  and 
all  details — doors,  windows,  and  stairways — became  completely  Hel- 
lenized.  It  was  at  this  period  that  the  stately  columned  porticoes, 
usually  of  the  Doric  or  Ionic  order,  made  their  appearance.  Gleaming 
white,  these  classic  portals,  seen  across  a  bluegrass  greensward  or  dis- 


THE    ARTS  131 

covered  at  the  end  of  a  shady  tree-lined  drive,  are  among  the  most  de- 
lightful sights  in  the  older  sections  of  the  State. 

One  of  the  earliest  true  Greek  Revival  houses  in  Kentucky  is  the 
Orlando  Brown  House  in  Frankfort,  built  in  1835  by  John  Brown  of 
"Liberty  Hall"  for  his  son.  Gideon  Shryock,  architect  of  the  Capitol, 
was  called  to  execute  this  task  and  here  showed  himself  as  much  a 
master  at  the  design  of  private  buildings  as  of  public  structures.  The 
simple  four-square  mass  of  this  brick  structure  is  crowned  by  a  low 
pediment  fronting  the  street  and  pierced  by  a  fanlight — reminiscent 
of  the  Georgian.  A  one-storied  tetrastyle  Ionic  portico  shelters  a  sim- 
ple rectangular  doorway  and  forms  a  "support"  to  a  triple-membered 
unshuttered  window  in  the  upper  hall,  similar  to  the  windows  at 
"Mansfield"  described  below.  The  four  other  windows  of  the  fagade 
have  six-paned  Georgian  sashes,  flanked  by  slatted  blinds. 

A  full-blown  Greek  Revival  example  is  "Mansfield,"  the  Thomas 
Hart  Clay  house,  just  east  of  the  famous  "Ashland"  on  the  Richmond 
Pike  in  Lexington.  Like  the  Churchill  Humphrey  house,  it  has  a  dig- 
nified central  mass  with  low  attic  and  ridge  paralleling  the  street, 
flanked  at  either  end  by  lower  masses  with  gable  ends.  Still  lower, 
links  join  the  three  masses  and  complete  the  ensemble.  A  feature  of 
the  central  fagade  is  a  graceful  tetrastyle  Ionic  portico  sheltering  a 
Greek  pilastered  entrance,  which  is  capped  with  transom  and  entabla- 
ture. The  walls  of  the  fagade  are  relieved  by  pilasters  in  brick  with 
membering  at  the  corners  and  triple  windows  enframed  in  the  same 
style  as  the  doorway.  These  Greek  windows  are  not  shuttered. 
Throughout  this  house,  inside  and  out,  the  chaste  sobriety  of  the  Greek 
Revival  at  its  best  is  exemplified. 

While  the  typical  Greek  Revival  house  is  fronted  by  a  two-storied 
portico  of  Doric  or  Ionic  design,  many  examples  in  Kentucky  exhibit 
variations  therefrom  as  charming  as  they  are  unusual.  An  excellent 
and  unique  portico  is  that  of  the  old  Adam  Childers  House  on  the  high 
school  campus  at  Versailles,  where  a  splendid  effect  has  been  obtained, 
not  by  the  use  of  columns  at  all,  but  by  the  use  of  square  piers  sim- 
ply molded  and  decorated  by  a  necking  embodying  a  simple  Greek 
fretwork. 

At  "Diamond  Point"  in  Harrodsburg  a  two-storied  portico  with 
Doric  columns,  set  between  square  end  piers,  shelters  a  rich  and  elabo- 
rately carved  doorway  and  a  narrow  lacy  balcony  that  crosses  the 
fagade  at  the  second  story  level. 

Sometimes  the  use  of  a  portico  is  dispensed  with  altogether  and  the 


132          KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

fagade  is  decorated  with  a  two-storied  recessed  entrance,  as  in  the  Dr. 
Robert  Alexander  Johnston  house  in  Danville.  Here  simple  fluted 
Doric  colonnades,  set  distyle  in  antis,  form  the  entrance  on  the  first 
floor,  while  a  similar  arrangement  above,  provided  with  a  balcony  rail, 
makes  a  small  recessed  porch.  An  important  portal  of  this  type,  but 
under  a  portico,  is  to  be  seen  at  the  Moberly  house  in  Harrodsburg. 

Windows  enframed  with  simple  Greek  architraves  often  exhibit 
Greek  anthemion  and  "honeysuckle"  motifs  as  applied  decoration. 
Good  examples  of  these  are  seen  at  the  Stephenson  house  in  Harrods- 
burg. 

The  plan  of  the  Greek  house  in  the  main  followed  Georgian  lines,  an 
arrangement  which  in  the  preceding  period  had  been  found  admirably 
adapted  to  living  in  Kentucky.  Often  Georgian  details  were  retained 
inside  the  house,  an  excellent  example  being  the  staircase,  which  seems 
to  have  remained  steadfastly  Georgian  even  in  the  late  Greek  house, 
as  at  "Scotland"  on  the  Frankfort-Versailles  Pike.  But  alongside  the 
Georgian  staircases  one  finds  heavy  Greek  enframed  interior  doors  and 
windows,  mantels,  and  woodwork.  Often  Ionic  and  upon  occasion 
Corinthian  columns  carried  a  cornice,  which,  at  the  wall,  rested  upon 
pilasters  to  form  effectively  trimmed  openings  between  rooms.  The 
Doctor  Carrick  residence  in  Lexington,  "White  Hall,"  and  the  Helm 
Place,  south  of  Lexington,  show  good  examples.  At  the  latter,  sliding 
doors,  encased  by  recessed  wing  walls,  made  their  appearance.  Interior 
doors  may  have  horizontal  or  vertical  panels  and  may  be  enframed  by 
a  splayed  casing  with  Greek  "ears"  at  the  top,  or  by  a  rectangular 
casing  resting  upon  simple  plinths  and  carved  with  fret  or  key  designs 
and  including  recessed  corner  blocks  at  the  top.  A  prominent  interior 
feature  of  this  period  was  the  elaborate  decorative  plaster  work  in  the 
form  of  deep  cornices  and  central  medallions  in  the  ceilings.  The  latter 
were  decorated  with  the  Greek  "water  leaf,"  anthemion,  acanthus,  and 
other  motifs  executed  exquisitely  in  plaster  of  Paris,  and  were  tinted 
in  delicate  pastel  colors;  they  formed  the  motif  from  which  crystal 
chandeliers  were  suspended. 

Fine  old  examples  of  Greek  Revival  architecture  are  the  McClure, 
Barbee  (Adams),  and  Chestnut  houses  in  Danville;  "Aspen  Hall"  and 
the  Ben  Lee  Harden  House  in  Harrodsburg;  the  Showalter,  Brooker, 
and  Shropshire  houses  at  Georgetown  (see  Tour  4)  ;  the  Colonel  James 
Marshall  Brown  and  Carrothers  houses  in  Bardstown ;  the  James  Wier- 
Duncan  (Dr.  Carrick)  home  in  Lexington;  and  Helm  Place,  south  of 


THE    ARTS  133 

that  city.  Certain  of  the  buildings  at  the  Kentucky  School  for  the 
Deaf  at  Danville,  old  Centre  College  (see  Tour  5)  in  the  same  city, 
Daughters'  College  (now  the  main  hall  of  Beaumont  Inn)  at  Harrods- 
burg. 

A  number  of  churches  and  residences  in  Kentucky  are  excellent 
examples  of  the  Gothic  Revival  style  (1835-1860).  The  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Louisville  (organized  in  1816)  erected  a  Gothic 
church  edifice  with  a  square  English  tower,  while  St.  Paul's  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  same  city  built  one  of  Gothic  design  with  tower  and 
spire.  An  interesting  church  of  this  era  is  the  fine  old  First  Presby- 
terian at  Danville.  Another  very  choice  example  is  the  little  sexton's 
house  in  the  abandoned  Episcopal  Cemetery  in  Lexington,  designed 
just  prior  to  the  War  between  the  States  by  John  McMurtry,  a  promi- 
nent architect  of  the  city.  The  Gothic  continued  to  be  the  popular 
ecclesiastical  style  up  to  the  war,  and  so  strong  was  its  momentum 
that  it  survived  as  "Victorian  Gothic"  in  the  post-war  period. 

There  are  five  typical  examples  of  the  Gothic  Revival  residences  left 
in  Kentucky,  four  of  brick  and  one  of  wood.  Three  of  these — the 
Alexander-Alford  house,  "Ingleside"  and  "Loudoun,"  in  Lexington — 
may  be  attributed  to  McMurtry,  who  made  a  trip  to  England  to  study 
the  details  of  the  Tudor  Gothic  style  of  that  country.  The  date  of  the 
building  of  "Ingleside"  is  generally  given  as  1852.  "Loudoun,"  on  the 
Bryan  Station  Pike  (Loudoun  Avenue)  at  the  northern  limits  of  Lex- 
ington, now  beautifully  overgrown  with  English  ivy,  is  a  handsome 
Gothic  Revival  house.  "Mound  Cottage,"  in  Danville,  said  to  have 
been  built  in  the  late  fifties,  is  another  splendid  example  constructed 
of  brick;  while  "Woodland  Villa"  on  the  Paris-Maysville  Pike  is  an 
interesting  example,  built  of  wood. 

The  War  between  the  States  and  the  reconstruction  period  were  gen- 
erally very  discouraging  eras  for  architecture  in  America.  The  blight 
that  settled  over  building  in  the  Nation  was,  if  anything,  more  pro- 
nounced in  the  border  States  than  elsewhere.  Kentucky  was  a  part  of 
the  battleground,  and  many  a  fine  ante  bellum  structure  was  pressed 
into  wartime  service.  As  a  result  a  number  of  fine  old  buildings,  like 
Bacon  College  at  Harrodsburg  and  the  "second"  Medical  Building  of 
Transylvania  University  at  Lexington,  both  in  the  Greek  style,  were 
burned  during  the  war.  Not  until  the  expansive  industrial  period  which 
followed  reconstruction  was  there  a  revival  of  building  activity  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  by  this  time  eclecticism,  which  has  since  characterized  art 
in  America,  had  begun  its  riotous  career. 


134         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

During  the  reconstruction  period  American  architecture  reached  its 
depth  of  degradation.  Indeed  the  country  did  not  awaken  to  the  ugli- 
ness of  its  art  until  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  Philadelphia  in  1876 
gave  us  some  notion  of  the  art  of  other  nations.  The  period  between 
this  exposition  and  that  of  Chicago  in  1893  was  a  backward  one,  but 
during  this  interim  American  students  who  had  been  studying  architec- 
ture abroad,  particularly  at  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts  in  Paris,  returned 
to  give  a  new  impetus  to  architectural  design  in  America. 

One  of  these  students,  Richard  Morris  Hunt,  who  had  gone  to  Paris 
in  1843,  had  returned  home  just  prior  to  the  War  between  the  States. 
During  the  seventies  and  eighties  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  profes- 
sional career  and,  being  a  champion  of  the  French  Renaissance,  gen- 
erated a  great  vogue  for  this  style  through  the  example  of  his  works. 
Following  his  precedent,  buildirigs  throughout  the  Union  were  conceived 
and  erected  in  the  mansard-roofed  style,  capitols,  courthouses,  city 
halls,  post  offices,  and  large  residences  in  particular  being  adapted  to 
this  manner.  The  Louisville  City  Hall  and  the  old  Post  Office  (1886- 
1892),  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Fourth  and  Chestnut  Streets,  together 
with  other  buildings  in  the  city  and  elsewhere  in  the  State,  were  part 
of  this  movement. 

Just  at  the  close  of  the  War  between  the  States,  Henry  Hobson 
Richardson,  a  native  of  Louisiana,  returned  from  his  architectural 
studies  in  Paris.  Soon  he  was  in  practice,  and,  although  he  died  at 
the  age  of  forty-eight,  his  influence  upon  American  architecture  was 
most  pronounced.  He  espoused  the  Romanesque  manner  of  the  south 
of  France  and  the  north  of  Spain,  and  designed  many  buildings 
throughout  the  Union  in  a  manner  so  highly  personalized  that  it  has 
since  been  called  the  Richardsonian  Romanesque.  This  vogue,  although 
highly  eclectic,  so  captivated  the  American  people  that  Montgomery 
Schuyler,  an  architectural  critic  and  writer  of  the  time,  hailed  it  as  the 
"American  National  style."  Trinity  Church  in  Boston  is,  perhaps, 
Richardson's  most  beautiful  building.  Kentucky,  in  common  with 
other  States,  exhibited  considerable  enthusiasm  for  the  Romanesque 
and  within  the  State  there  are  a  number  of  examples  in  this  manner, 
among  them  the  post  offices  at  Lexington  (1886-89),  Owensboro 
(1888-89),  Paducah  (1881-83),  and  Richmond  (1893-97);  the  Lex- 
ington City  Hall;  and  the  Central  Christian  Church  in  the  same  city; 
the  Christian  Church  in  Cynthiana,  and  the  State  Street  Methodist 
Church  in  Bowling  Green.  Essentially  a  style  adapted  to  construction 


THE    ARTS  135 

in  stone  or  brick,  the  Romanesque  is  still  popular  in  some  sections  for 
hospitals,  schools,  and  churches. 

Once  eclecticism  had  set  in,  the  architect  felt  free  to  examine  Old 
World  styles  and  to  adopt  any  that  seemed  appropriate  to  the  task  at 
hand.  This  led  to  an  infusion  into  American  architecture  of  Italian, 
English,  French,  and  Spanish  ideas  and  motifs,  and  most  cities  show 
the  personal  predilections  of  the  architects  who  designed  their  struc- 
tures. Not  finding  a  better  style  than  the  Gothic  for  church  build- 
ings, architects  generally  reverted  to  this  manner  for  ecclesiastical 
work.  Certainly  the  influence  of  Ralph  Adams  Cram  and  his  associates 
in  the  East  has  helped  to  fix  upon  America  the  Gothic  as  a  church 
style;  upon  occasion,  other  structures  have  been  built  in  this  manner. 
A  good  example  is  the  old  post  office  in  Covington  (1875-79),  which 
is  an  American  adaptation  of  the  Italian  Gothic  popular  at  the  time  it 
was  built.  In  a  sense  the  continuity  of  the  Gothic  Revival  has  never 
been  broken,  except  for  the  interlude  of  the  War  between  the  States, 
when  most  architectural  activity  ceased.  Thus  by  1872  Cincinnatus 
Shryock,  brother  of  Gideon,  was  constructing  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Lexington  of  brick  in  Gothic  style.  St.  Rose  Church  at  St. 
Rose,  Kentucky,  and  the  church  of  Gethsemane  Abbey  (see  Tour  6) 
belong  also  to  this  continuation  of  the  Gothic  Revival,  which  we  gen- 
erally call  Neo- Gothic.  Kentucky  is  well  supplied  with  churches  of 
this  type,  many  of  them,  like  the  Chapel  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in 
Lexington,  being  of  very  excellent  design. 

American  architecture,  with  the  exception  of  the  Romanesque  and 
Gothic  infiltrations,  has  derived  its  inspiration  largely  from  the  Classic. 
Therefore,  when  the  Chicago  World's  Fair  of  1893  blossomed  forth  in 
forms  almost  exclusively  classic,  the  country  was  very  ready  to  accept 
them;  and,  as  a  result,  American  architecture  for  the  past  forty  years 
has  remained  decidedly  classic  in  flavor.  This  classicism  has  been  at- 
tained at  times  through  the  adoption  of  the  Greek  or  Roman  forms,  at 
other  times  through  a  skillful  rendition  of  American  utilities  in  the 
spirit  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  as  in  the  new  State  Capitol  at  Frank- 
fort. An  interesting  example  of  the  adaptation  of  Italian  Renaissance 
architecture  was  the  famous  Gait  House,  on  Main  Street  in  Louisville, 
which  showed  unmistakable  inspiration  from  the  Palazzo  Farnese  in 
Rome. 

Henry  Whitestone  was  the  architect  of  a  great  number  of  commend- 
able structures  in  the  city  of  Louisville,  which,  in  general,  may  be  said 
to  be  of  classic  design.  In  addition  to  structures  with  a  decidedly 


136         KENTUCKY:   THE  GENERAL  BACKGROUND 

antique  flavor,  like  the  new  Post  Office  in  Louisville  and  the  Lincoln 
Memorial  (see  Tour  6),  on  the  Lincoln  Farm  at  Hodgenville,  there 
has  been  a  recent  tendency  to  revive  another  style  of  classic  derivation, 
the  American  Georgian.  The  Christian  Church  in  Harrodsburg,  the 
new  Baptist  Theological  Seminary  in  Louisville,  and  many  residences 
throughout  the  State  indicate  a  growing  regard  for  indigenous  American 
types. 


Part  II 

Cities  and  Towns 


ASHLAND 


Railroad  Stations:  Carter  Ave.  and  12th  St.,  for  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry.;  N.  end 
Interstate  Bridge,  for  Norfolk  &  Western  R.R. ;  Kenova,  W.  Va.  6  m.  E.  for  Balti- 
more &  Ohio,  and  Norfolk  &  Western  R.R's. 

Bus  Station:  Union  Depot,  13th  St.,  near  Winchester  Ave.,  for  Greyhound  and 
Sparks  Bros.  Lines. 

Local  Buses:  Local,  interurban,  and  jitney  buses;  fare  5tf  and  10^. 
Airport:  L.  from  Winchester  Ave.  on  34th  St.;  no  scheduled  service. 
Taxis:  25$  minimum. 

Toll  Bridge:  Kentucky-Ohio  Interstate  Bridge:  autos,  25$;  pedestrians,  Stf. 
Traffic  Regulations:  No  U-turns  or  left-turns  on  business  street  intersections. 

Accommodations:  Two  hotels;  rooming  houses  and  private  homes  cater  to  tourists. 
Information  Service:  Eastern  Kentucky  Auto  Assn.,  Henry  Clay  Hotel. 

Radio  Station:  WCMI  (1310  kc.). 

Motion  Picture  Houses:  Four. 

Swimming:  South  Side  Pool,  off  Blackburn  Ave.,  E.,  10^  and  25#. 

Golf:  Hillendale  Club,  Division  St.;  18  holes,  greens  fee  SOtf  and  $1. 

ASHLAND  (555  alt.,  29,074  pop.),  largest  and  most  important  city 
in  Eastern  Kentucky,  is  concentrated  on  a  rather  high  and  wide  flood 
plain  of  the  Ohio  River.  The  river  makes  a  great  bend  around  the 
southernmost  tip  of  Ohio,  receives  the  waters  of  the  Big  Sandy  at  the 
border  between  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  and  then  sweeps  north- 
west with  slow,  easy  curves  past  the  long  waterfront  of  Ashland.  The 
city  stretches  up  the  river  to  Catlettsburg  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Sandy,  and  down  to  the  rolling  mill  plant,  a  distance  of  seven  miles, 
widening  and  narrowing  with  the  contour  of  the  river  bluffs  overlook- 
ing the  town. 

Ashland  is  the  chief  Kentucky  unit  of  an  industrial  area  that  in- 
cludes Huntington,  Ceredo,  and  Kenova,  West  Virginia;  and  Coal- 
grove,  Ironton,  and  Portsmouth,  Ohio.  The  river  bank  at  Ashland  is 
uncommonly  high,  acting  as  a  wall  against  all  but  the  superfloods  that 
ravage  most  river  towns  year  after  year.  This  protected  river  front  is, 
however,  strictly  utilitarian.  Along  it  are  strung  the  steel  and  iron 
mills,  the  sawmills,  the  coke  plants,  and  brickyards.  In  front  of  the 
city  fleets  of  barges  pass,  pushed  by  stern-wheeled  tugboats,  carrying 
thousands  of  tons  of  freight — far  more  than  in  the  heyday  of  river 
boats.  In  the  decade  before  the  turn  of  the  century  the  Ohio  River 
peak  was  12  million  tons,  whereas  in  1936  it  was  in  excess  of  24  mil- 
lions of  tons.  The  Gordon  Greene,  last  of  the  packets  making  the 
run  up-river  to  Pittsburgh,  periodically  sweeps  by  with  the  old  grace. 

Down  near  the  river  front,  too,  are  many  of  the  warehouses,  whole- 
sale houses,  packing  houses,  the  livestock  market,  and  a  few  of  the 
retail  stores.  But  this  part  of  the  city  is  caught  by  high  floods,  and 

139 


140  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

the  modern  business  district  has  centered  along  Winchester  Avenue 
and  intersecting  streets,  three  blocks  inland  on  a  higher  plain.  Here 
are  the  banks,  hotels,  modern  office  buildings,  churches,  and  depart- 
ment stores,  and,  immediately  adjoining  them,  the  downtown  resi- 
dential section,  all  showing  the  marks  of  the  boom  in  the  1920's.  On 
a  third  and  still  higher  terrace,  from  Carter  Avenue  to  the  hill,  and 
well  above  even  the  1937  flood  level,  is  the  chief  residential  area,  with 
the  52-acre  Central  Park,  only  five  minutes'  walk  from  the  shopping 
district.  Near  the  park  are  the  fine  houses  of  Bath  Avenue,  built  by 
the  iron  masters,  the  lumber  men,  and  the  "wholesale"  families.  To 
the  south  the  town  has  spread,  up  the  river  bluffs  and  over  the  irreg- 
ular, wooded  plateau  where  the  new,  winding  streets  follow  the  contour 
lines,  and  buses  and  jitney  service  connect  the  residents  with  down- 
town business  and  industry.  These  terraces  provide  natural  zoning  for 
the  city  and  account  in  part  for  the  unusual  attractiveness  of  Ashland. 
It  is  a  steel,  coal,  iron,  and  railroad  center,  free  of  the  appalling  grime 
and  ugliness  that  disfigure  so  many  American  steel  towns. 

The  population  of  the  city  is  divided  into  four  rather  distinct  groups. 
The  first  of  these  is  made  up  of  the  old  families  that  have  been  here 
for  three  or  four  generations — the  people  who  made  their  money  from 
iron,  clay,  coal,  and  lumber,  and  the  professional  people.  Next  to  them 
are  the  workers  of  the  older  generation  who  used  to  live  in  a  kind  of 
feudal  relationship  to  the  owners  of  the  mills  and  factories.  In  the 
last  three  decades,  as  Ashland  doubled  its  population  and  the  small 
mills  grew  large  and  were  absorbed  by  outside  interests,  two  new 
elements  were  added — the  clerks,  managers,  technicians,  and  white 
collar  workers  who  poured  into  town,  and  the  hill  people  who  came 
down  to  find  work.  There  are  very  few  foreign-born,  and  the  rather 
small  Negro  settlement  has  its  own  educational  plants  and  community 
life. 

Eighty  percent  of  the  homes  are  owned  by  those  who  live  in  them. 
Small  business  and  "corner  groceries"  thrive  in  the  newly  incorporated 
neighborhoods.  Education  and  the  schools  are  the  object  of  a  zeal 
that  is  almost  a  crusade.  In  the  last  few  years  new  elementary  school 
buildings  like  the  Hager  and  the  Hatcher,  and  junior  high  school 
buildings  like  the  recently  completed  Putnam,  have  sprung  up  in  the 
downtown  area  and  the  suburban  hills,  and  a  city  library  has  been 
erected  in  Central  Park.  Churches  are  well  attended  and  play  a  large 
part  in  the  spiritual  and  social  life  of  the  community. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  rich  natural  heritage  of  the  region  has 
been  the  dominant  factor  in  its  growth.  Natural  resources  determined 
where  white  men  first  would  settle  in  this  eastern  section  of  Kentucky, 
and  then  dictated  the  types  of  industrial  enterprise  in  which  they 
would  engage. 

Even  the  Indians  placed  a  special  premium  on  this  section  and  were 
extremely  loath  to  give  it  up.  Of  all  the  choice  hunting  grounds  in  this 
area,  the  red  men  held  on  to  the  timbered  valley  of  the  Big  Sandy  and 
the  neighboring  banks  of  the  Ohio  long  after  white  settlers  had  forced 


ASHLAND  141 

them  out  of  surrounding  territory.  While  the  local  deposits  of  coal, 
iron  ore,  fire  clay,  sandstone,  limestone,  oil,  and  gas  meant  little  or 
nothing  to  the  Indians,  they  did  value  highly  the  fine  hardwood  timber, 
the  convenient  watering  places,  and  the  abundance  of  wild  game. 
Also,  they  favored  the  high  bench  on  the  site  of  Ashland  as  a  con- 
venient place  to  bury  their  dead,  as  evidenced  by  the  number  of 
burial  mounds  that  remain  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 

Eastern  Kentucky  did  not  beckon  to  white  pioneers  until  the  Indian 
power  north  of  the  Ohio  was  broken  at  the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe  in 
1811.  The  first  pioneers  to  come  to  the  high  flood  plain  and  establish 
the  forerunner  of  Ashland  brought  with  them  a  fixed  determination, 
and  a  willingness  to  fight — an  attribute  that  quickly  found  expression 
in  disputes  over  land  claims  growing  out  of  inaccurate  surveys.  These 
disagreements  cluttered  the  local  courts  and  some  of  the  disputants 
"lawed"  each  other  for  years,  settlement  in  many  cases  coming  long 
after  the  original  contestants  had  died.  True  to  the  early  feudist's 
code,  a  number  of  the  belligerents  chose  a  more  expeditious  method 
of  settling  arguments  and  disposed  of  their  opponents  in  the  orthodox 
frontier  fashion. 

When  three  Poages — George,  Robert,  and  Robert,  Jr. — came  from 
Virginia  in  1815  to  settle  in  the  fertile  lands  now  occupied  by  Ashland, 
they  chose  a  spot  that  is  included  in  the  present  downtown  section, 
and  there  established  "Poage  Settlement."  As  other  pioneers  moved 
in  from  the  East  and  erected  log  cabins,  the  settlers'  attention  was 
focused  on  the  industrial  potentialities  of  the  fine  forests  and  the  trans- 
portation facilities  of  nearby  streams.  The  great  stretches  of  timber 
already  had  made  the  Big  Sandy  Valley  the  scene  of  much  activity,  and 
Catlettsburg,  five  miles  up  the  Ohio,  was  becoming  widely  known  as  a 
lumber  town. 

Naturally,  therefore,  lumbering  was  the  first  and  most  important 
industry  of  the  new  village  which  developed  from  Poage  Settlement. 
Soon,  however,  with  the  discovery  of  iron  ore  and  other  mineral  de- 
posits, much  of  the  hardwood  in  the  vicinity  of  Ashland  was  being 
converted  into  charcoal  for  use  in  the  production  of  iron.  The  Belle- 
fonte  furnace,  first  in  Ashland  and  Boyd  County,  was  set  up  in  1826; 
it  consumed  millions  of  feet  of  Kentucky's  best  timber,  but  produced 
thousands  of  tons  of  iron.  By  the  time  Ashland  was  formally  laid 
out  in  1850,  most  of  its  inhabitants  had  been  attracted  by  the  promise 
of  the  vicinity's  valuable  mineral  deposits  and  hardwood  timber.  The 
village  took  its  name  from  Henry  Clay's  home,  "Ashland,"  in  Lexing- 
ton. 

Industrial  development  came  rapidly.  The  new  village  was  only  one 
year  old  when  the  State  legislature  authorized  incorporation  of  the 
community's  first  railroad,  now  the  Kentucky  division  of  the  Chesa- 
peake &  Ohio.  Ashland  welcomed  its  first  bank  in  1856  and  imme- 
diately assumed  a  more  important  commercial  standing  when  the  bank 
established  a  branch  in  Shelbyville.  The  first  railroad  was  completed 
in  1857,  and  the  next  year  Ashland  became  an  incorporated  village. 


142  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

During  the  War  between  the  States,  Ashland's  iron  production  in- 
creased. However,  it  was  not  until  after  the  conflict,  when  iron  be- 
came a  vital  factor  in  reconstruction,  that  the  community  gained  the 
dominant  Kentucky  position  in  the  industry.  With  the  basic  requisites, 
coal,  limestone,  and  iron  ore,  immediately  at  hand  in  the  hills  just 
south  of  the  town — territory  that  now  is  included  in  the  city — it  was 
only  a  short  time  until  many  furnaces  were  erected,  and  Ashland  and 
its  environs  vied  with  the  iron-producing  towns  of  Hanging  Rock  and 
Ironton  on  the  Ohio  side  of  the  river.  Notable  among  the  new  plants 
was  the  Star  Iron  Works,  which  was  built  along  the  river  front  in 
1868.  This  plant,  in  1870 — the  year  in  which  Ashland  became  an 
incorporated  city — was  taken  over  by  the  Ashland  Furnace  Company, 
owned  by  the  Ashland  Coal  &  Iron  Company  Railroad.  From  March 
1871  through  June  1874  the  furnace  produced  an  average  of  more 
than  1,000  tons  of  pig  iron  per  month,  or  a  gross  of  40,527  tons,  a 
record  that  was  not  broken  until  1916. 

The  Norton  Iron  &  Nail  Works,  established  in  1873,  built  a  blast 
furnace,  a  rolling  mill,  and  a  nail  mill;  and  in  the  same  year  "Big 
Etna,"  at  that  time  the  largest  blast  furnace  in  the  West,  added  to 
Ashland's  prestige  as  an  iron  center.  Of  all  its  iron  family,  Ashland's 
Bellefonte  furnace  probably  had  the  most  colorful  history,  although 
later  ones  outstripped  it  in  production.  In  the  days  before  the  Ohio 
was  alive  with  big  steamboats,  the  Bellefonte's  products  were  shipped 
down  the  river  in  barges.  In  the  same  manner,  coal  was  brought  down 
the  Big  Sandy  to  the  furnace,  and  the  fire  clay  and  ore  were  taken 
from  the  hills  at  what  was  then  Ashland's  back  door. 

As  iron  and  steel  forged  to  the  front  in  Ashland,  the  community 
began  to  mine  the  clays  of  Boyd  County.  Brick-  and  tile-making  be- 
came an  important  industry,  and  when,  within  a  few  years,  nearby  oil 
and  natural  gas  deposits  were  developed,  Ashland  embarked  upon  a 
well-rounded,  modern  industrial  era.  Although  the  source  of  iron  ore 
supply  soon  shifted  to  the  head  of  the  Great  Lakes,  relegating  Ken- 
tucky ores  to  the  background,  the  vast  supply  of  other  crude  essentials 
and  the  advantageous  transportation  facilities  of  the  Ashland  area 
enabled  the  town  to  improve  its  position  as  a  steel  center.  With  the 
opening  of  the  Ashland  Steel  Company's  Bessemer  mill  in  1891,  the 
town  definitely  assumed  its  modern  industrial  role;  the  climax  came 
with  erection  of  a  big  plant  of  the  American  Rolling  Mill  Company 
in  1920.  Ashland  still  looks  to  its  own  community  for  the  major 
part  of  its  basic  industrial  materials,  and  the  hills  of  the  immediate 
region  are  the  great  storehouses  from  which  its  rolling  mills,  coke 
ovens,  fire-brickworks,  and  lumber  mills  draw  their  supplies. 

The  comparatively  high  plain  on  which  the  town  sits  saved  it  from 
a  most  disastrous  experience  during  the  Ohio  River  floods  in  1937. 
Although  the  flood  waters  went  to  an  unprecedented  high  mark,  inun- 
dating the  lower  streets,  and  reaching  Winchester  Avenue  in  the  mod- 
ern business  section,  actual  losses  in  Ashland  were  slight  in  comparison 


ASHLAND  143 

with  those  in  river  towns  less  fortunately  situated.  During  the  flood 
period,  2,200  residents  were  evacuated;  and  property  loss,  resulting 
largely  from  damage  to  industrial  plants,  wholesale  and  retail  estab- 
lishments, and  to  household  furnishings,  was  estimated  by  local  officials 
at  less  than  $1,500,000.  Ashland  cared  for  600  refugees  from  other 
flood  areas  until  they  could  be  rehabilitated.  The  city's  recovery  from 
the  river's  onslaught  was  so  rapid  that  within  six  months  few  marks 
of  the  flood's  ravages  remained  and  Ashland  resumed  its  role  of  a 
busy  industrial  spot  where  substantial  homes,  excellent  educational 
institutions,  and  a  culture  befitting  a  sizeable  community  provide  an 
even  balance  with  steel,  coke,  brick,  and  lumber. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST 

1.  AMERICAN  ROLLING  MILL  ("ARMCO")  PLANT  (open  on 
special  occasions  or  by  appointment),  Winchester   Ave.,   West,  was 
begun  in  1920,  when  the  city  had  a  population  of  14,000.    Five  years 
later,  due  chiefly  to  the  growth  of  this  plant  and  its  associated  activi- 
ties, the  population  had  doubled,  and  Armco  was  employing  a  force 
of  3,200.    Its  present  monthly  payroll  approximates  $400,000.     Here 
are  seen  the  processes  by  which  the  major  raw  materials  entering  into 
the  steel  industry — iron  ore,  coal,  and  limestone — become,  by  reduction 
and  intricate  chemical  processes  employing  less  well  known  but  essen- 
tial metals,  the  specialized  steels  used  in  modern  manufacture.    These 
raw  materials  enter  at  one  end  of  the  works,  go  through  the  conversion 
process  en  route,  and  emerge  at  the  other  end  in  the  forms  of  steel 
adapted  to  the  factory  requirements  of  automobile  and  other  manu- 
facturers. 

The  floor  space  of  the  Armco  plant,  which  extends  to  the  west  of 
the  business  section  along  the  Ohio  River,  exceeds  1,600,000  square 
feet.  Twenty-two  miles  of  standard-gauge  side  track  serve  this  shop 
area.  Two  steam  and  five  oil-electric  locomotives,  more  than  30 
freight  cars,  60  electric  cranes  and  15  tractors  are  employed  in  shift- 
ing materials  in  and  about  the  plant. 

2.  NORTH  AMERICAN  REFRACTORIES  PLANT  (open),  701 
Winchester  Ave.,  a  branch  of  the  nationwide  concern  with  offices  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  manufactures  locomotive  fire  boxes,  furnace  linings, 
gas  retorts,  and  similar  articles  capable  of  withstanding  intense  and 
long  continued  heat.     Eastern  Kentucky,  especially  the  vicinity  of 
Ashland,  is  rich  in  non-plastic  clays  that  possess  the  unusual  quality 
of  resistance  to  temperatures  up  to  3,000  degrees  F.    The  plant  was 
built  in  1886,  and  gives  employment  to  an  average  of  200  men. 

3.  CENTRAL  PARK,  Central  Ave.  and  17th  St.,  is  a  52-acre  native 
woodland  area  in  the  heart  of  the  city.     Within  the  park  are  six 
Indian  mounds,  conical  in  shape,  where  the  red  men  buried  their  dead. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  park  entrance,  head  of  17th  St.,  is  the 
CITY  LIBRARY  (open  9-9  weekdays).  The  building,  completed  in 


144  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

1937,  was  erected  with  government  funds.  It  is  a  one-story-and-base- 
ment,  T-shaped  structure  of  Georgian  Colonial  design,  built  of  dressed 
local  sandstone.  The  reading  room  is  furnished  simply  and  supplied 
with  current  magazines.  The  stack  room  provides  adequate  space  for 
the  development  of  a  fiction,  reference,  and  general  purpose  library. 
In  the  basement  are  conference  rooms  and  an  auditorium  provided  with 
a  small  stage  and  picture  screen.  The  exterior  is  dominated  by  a 
Classic  Revival  portico  of  restrained  proportions  and  a  belfry  tower 
surmounting  the  roof. 

4.  LAWRENCE  LEATHER  BELTING  PLANT   (open),  Central 
Ave.  and  25th  St.,  manufactures  leather  belting  of  all  kinds.     Hides 
are  transformed  by  intricate  processes  into  the  continuous  belting  that 
drives  a  threshing  machine  or  the  fly-wheel  of  a  great  power  plant,  and 
the  plant  extends  its  search  for  materials  into  the  hide  markets  of  the 
world. 

5.  SCRAP  IRON  YARDS.     Skirting  the  N.  side  of  Winchester 
Ave.,  E.  of  the  downtown  business  section,  are  great  yards  where  old 
iron  gathered  from  the  farms,  back  yards,  and  refuse  heaps  of  a  wide 
region  throughout  Kentucky,  Ohio,  and  West  Virginia  is  concentrated 
preliminary  to  its  movement  to  the  steel  mills.     The  "old  iron"  is 
stripped  of  everything  undesirable,  sheared  into  workable  sizes,  and 
then  caught  up  by  electro-magnets  and  loaded  into  cars  for  transfer 
to  local  or  perhaps  far-distant  steel  furnaces.     At  the  furnace  it  be- 
comes an  important  part  of  the  white-hot  mixture  that  is  drawn  off 
into  huge  mechanically  controlled  ladles  from  which  is  poured  the  ingot 
steel  that,  under  the  tremendous  pressure  of  huge  rollers,  is  flattened 
out  into  whatever  rough  form  may  be  required  by  the  manufacturer. 

6.  ASHLAND  LIVESTOCK  MARKET  (open  Hon.),  36th  St.  and 
Winchester  Ave.,  is  the  scene  of  an  activity  of  considerable  interest  to 
visitors.    The  hilly  region  adjacent  to  Ashland  is  not  generally  adapted 
to  field  crop  production,  but  the  field  and  wood  pastures  of  the  area 
feed  a  very  considerable  quantity  of  livestock,  principally  cattle  and 
hogs.     These  are  concentrated  for  sale  and  shipment  on  Mondays  at 
the  livestock  yards.     Picturesque  in  garb  and  speech,  drovers  from 
the  hills  come  in  with  their  offerings,  to  barter  and  haggle.    After  the 
sale  the  stock  goes  by  rail  to  the  great  midwest  packing  houses. 

7.  SEMET-SOLVAY   COKE   PLANT    (not  open   to   the   public), 
40th  St.  and  the  river  front,  presents  a  spectacular  sight  by  night 
when  the  flames  from  the  ovens  light  up  the  whole  countryside.    Coke 
making  is  an  adaptation,  applied  to  coal,  of  the  long  known  process 
of  burning  wood  under  conditions  that  allow  insufficient  oxygen,  with 
the  result  that  a  high-efficiency  fuel  remains  after  the  moisture  and 
gases  are  driven  off.     In  similar  fashion  certain  grades  of  coal  are 
"baked"  in  great  ovens.    After  the  volatile  materials  are  driven  off  and 
captured   (later  to  be  employed  in  industry),  the  residue  forms  the 
ordinary  coke  of  commerce.     Coke  has  a  thermal  efficiency,  ton  for 
ton,  approximately  equal  to  the  best  anthracite,  and  is  widely  em- 
ployed both  in  industry  and  in  the  heating  of  dwellings. 


146  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

8.  GOVERNMENT  LOCK  NO.  29,  Riverside,  opposite  Clyffeside 
(E.  end),  includes  one  of  the  dams  that  control  the  low-water  stage 
in  the  Ohio  River  at  a  minimum  navigation  depth  of  nine  feet,  the 
draft  necessary  for  barges.  The  location  of  these  dams,  designed  to 
provide  for  navigation  rather  than  power,  is  determined  by  the  slope 
of  the  stream  bed.  They  divide  the  river,  from  Pittsburgh  to  Cairo, 
Illinois,  into  "pools"  that  can  retain  sufficient  water  for  navigation 
purposes  at  all  times.  The  Ashland  dam  illustrates  the  entire  river- 
control  system,  and  the  manner  in  which  barges  and  their  tows  are 
passed  through  the  locks.  Government  dredges  remove  the  silt  that 
accumulates,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  nine-foot  minimum  stage  pro- 
vides, for  Ashland  and  for  all  cities  along  the  Ohio,  a  low  cost  route 
for  the  movement  of  iron,  coal,  limestone,  oil,  timber,  and  other  basic 
commodities,  as  well  as  for  the  finished  manufactured  products  in 
transit  to  key  distribution  points. 


COVINGTON 


Railroad  Station:  Union  Depot,  Pike  and  Russell  Sts.,  for  Louisville  &  Nashville 
R.R.,  and  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry. 

Bus  Station:  6th  St.  between  Scott  Blvd.  and  Madison  Ave.,  for  Greyhound, 
Fleenor,  and  Blue  Ribbon  Lines. 

Airport:  Lunken  Field,  (5.5  m.,  via  Cincinnati  on  US  50  (River  Road),  for  Ameri- 
can Air  Lines. 

Taxis:  15#  and  upward  according  to  distance  and  number  of  passengers. 
Toll  Bridges:  Suspension,  N.  end  of  Court  Ave.,  passenger  autos  10^  and   15^, 
pedestrians  free;  Covington-Newport,  E.  end  of  4th  St.,  passenger  autos  10^  and 
15tf,  pedestrians  2#. 

Traffic  Regulations:  Right  turn  on  red  light  only  at  intersection  of  Starrett  St. 
and  Madison  Ave.  Watch  signs  for  parking  limitations. 

Accommodations:  Nearest  hotels  in  Cincinnati;  private  homes  cater  to  tourists. 

Information  Service:  Chamber  of  Commerce,  SW.  corner  Pike  St.  and  Madison 
Ave.;  Kentucky  Motor  Club,  417  Scott  St. 

Radio  Station:  WCKY  (1490  kc.). 
Motion  Picture  Houses:  Seven. 

Swimming:  Rosedale  Park,  entrance  Carroll  St.,  near  45th  St.;  Y.M.C.A.,  Pike  St. 
and  Madison  Ave. 

Golf:  Devou  Park,  entrance  on  Western  Ave.  between  6th  and  7th  Sts.,  9  holes, 
greens  fee  50tf,  75<J  and  $1;  Twin  Oaks  Country  Club,  E.  end  of  Baltimore  St., 
18  holes,  greens  fee  75<?  and  $1. 

Tennis:  Dixie  Court,  Madison  Ave.  and  2d  St.,  20tf  per  hour;  Goebel  Park,  5th 
and  Philadelphia  Sts.,  free;  South  Covington  Court,  W.  end  of  45th  St.,  SOtf  per 
day. 

Riding:  Sunny  Side  Riding  Club,  Park  Hills,  75(*  and  $1  per  hour;  Pleasure  Isle, 
$1  per  hour. 

Racing:  Latcnia  Race  Track,  S.  and  Latonia  Ave.  car  line;  spring  and  fall  meet- 
ings (pari-mutuel  betting).  See  local  papers  for  schedules. 

Annual  Events:  Egg  Fight,  Easter  Sunday,  Devou  Park. 

COVINGTON  (513  alt.,  65,252  pop.),  second  largest  city  in  Ken- 
tucky, lies  on  a  flood  plain  of  the  Ohio  River  at  the  foot  of  suburban 
hills  that  reach  back  to  a  high  plain  of  the  Bluegrass.  Highways  from 
Louisville  and  the  hills  of  central  Kentucky  sweep  rather  suddenly 
into  position  for  a  fine  view  of  the  city.  To  the  east  the  Licking 
River  separates  old  Covington  residences  from  Newport;  to  the  west 
the  Ohio  River  bends  away  past  scattered  suburbs  and  the  long  Cin- 
cinnati waterfront;  and  to  the  north  most  of  Covington's  business 
houses,  factories,  churches,  parks,  and  homes  are  clustered  against  a 
magnificent  backdrop,  where  five  bridges  cross  the  Ohio  to  Cincinnati 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

In  this  setting  Covington  looks  like  a  city  on  the  Rhine.  The  im- 
pression is  heightened  by  the  spires  of  many  churches — Covington  has 
more  than  threescore — that  taper  up  from  among  compact  business 


148  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

and  factory  buildings  and  the  plain  brick  structures  put  up  by  German 
immigrants  of  the  mid-nineteenth  century. 

Though  the  Germans  have  stamped  the  pattern  of  the  city  indelibly, 
other  influences  have  been  almost  equally  strong.  The  early  settlers 
came  mainly  from  the  South,  and  they  brought  slaves  and  plantation 
culture  with  them.  They  built  the  walled-  and  fenced-in  homes  lining 
the  streets  that  criss-cross  the  angle  formed  by  the  intersection  of  the 
Licking  with  the  Ohio.  When  the  Negroes  were  freed,  they  went  to 
live  in  what  were  then  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  farther  up  the  Licking 
and  beneath  the  bluffs  toward  which  the  industrial  areas  were  expand- 
ing. The  neglected  homes  of  the  Negroes  in  Covington  are  small,  but 
the  Negro's  contribution  to  the  city,  especially  in  the  way  of  education, 
is  large.  Through  the  good  work  of  their  public  and  parochial  schools, 
Covington 's  Negroes  have  reduced  the  more  than  90  percent  illiteracy 
of  the  1860's  to  almost  zero.  In  1930  only  501  Covington  residents 
(and  many  of  these  white)  were  illiterate. 

Covington  does  not  have  skyscrapers,  huge  photoplay  palaces, 
gigantic  department  stores,  or  bulky  hotels,  because  it  has  geared  its 
economic  and  social  life  to  that  of  Cincinnati,  only  a  bridge  toll  away. 
Each  weekday  morning  Covington  empties  motorcars  and  little  green 
trolleys  full  of  people  into  Cincinnati;  each  weekday  afternoon  Cin- 
cinnati sends  the  steady,  noisy  stream  of  traffic  back  to  Covington. 
In  the  evening  Covingtonians  generally  relax  in  their  homes  or  recross 
the  river  for  entertainment,  while  their  city  plays  host  to  many  Cin- 
cinnatians  who  find  Kentucky  less  restricting  than  Ohio. 

On  St.  Valentine's  Day  in  1780,  George  Muse,  a  soldier  of  Virginia 
in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  swapped  for  a  keg  of  whisky  his  scrip 
for  200  acres  of  land  allotted  him  for  military  service.  The  new 
owner  of  the  land  traded  it  for  a  quarter  of  buffalo  that  Gen.  James 
Taylor  offered  him.  Taylor  dickered  it  off  to  Col.  Stephen  Trigg,  who 
got  rid  of  it  to  John  Todd,  Jr.,  who  unloaded  it  onto  James  Welch. 
Welch  kept  the  land  long  enough  to  get  it  surveyed,  and  in  1801  sold 
it  to  Thomas  Kennedy  for  $750.  Kennedy  erected  a  huge  stone  house 
overlooking  the  Licking  near  what  is  now  the  approach  to  the  Sus- 
pension Bridge,  and  lived  there  as  a  tavern-keeper  and  ferry-man 
until  1814.  Then  he  sold  150  acres  of  his  property  to  John  S.  Gano, 
Richard  M.  Gano,  and  Thomas  Carneal.  In  the  following  year,  the 
three  men  chartered  a  town  and  named  it  for  Gen.  Leonard  Covington 
of  Maryland,  a  hero  of  the  War  of  1812  who  died  of  wounds  received 
during  the  Battle  of  Chrystler's  Field. 

Covington's  growth  was  negligible  during  the  years  of  national  de- 
pression following  1819,  but  in  1830,  with  a  population  of  only  715, 
the  town  had  a  log  church,  several  inns,  and  a  schoolhouse  which  was 
also  a  meeting  place  for  a  light  infantry  troop,  the  town  trustees,  and 
the  Social  Polemic  Society.  A  few  streets  were  paved;  those  running 
east  and  west  were  numbered,  those  north  and  south  were  named  for 
notables.  The  town  also  had  a  fire  brigade,  a  steam  ferry,  and  the 


COVINGTON  149 

store  of  Benjamin  J.  Leathers,  who  issued  so  much  scrip  in  hard  times 
that  "paid  in  Leathers"  became  Covington  argot. 

Beginning  with  the  1830's,  as  settlers  headed  West  over  Kentucky 
land  routes  and  the  Ohio  River,  Covington  became  a  trade  center  for 
livestock,  grain,  and  other  products  of  the  countryside.  An  influx  of 
people  from  over  the  Appalachians  (principally  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia)  was  succeeded  by  the  large  German  immigration 
of  1840-1860. 

By  1847  there  were  two  leading  educational  institutions  in  Coving- 
ton — the  Western  Baptist  Theological  College  and  Dr.  Orr's  Female 
Seminary.  The  seminary  stressed  good  manners  and  deportment. 
One  teacher,  a  Miss  Robb,  dismissed  her  class  one  by  one,  and  exacted 
from  each  girl  a  Victorian  curtsy — the  spreading  of  the  skirt  and  mak- 
ing a  low  bow,  not  one  of  the  "silly  bobs"  as  of  later  days. 

In  the  1850's  the  Kentucky  Central  Railroad  was  begun  from  Cov- 
ington to  Lexington,  a  high  school  opened,  the  seat  of  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic bishopric  established,  a  local  Turnverein  organized,  and  gas  first 
used  for  lighting.  In  1860  the  first  hospital,  St.  Elizabeth's,  was 
established.  Covington  people  made  furniture,  farm  tools,  rope,  and 
cloth,  and  brewed  beer,  packed  meat,  and  participated  in  the  growing 
river  commerce. 

Covington  commuted  to  Cincinnati  by  ferry.  But  service  was  inter- 
rupted during  flood  times,  and  it  sometimes  took  a  whole  day  to  make 
a  business  trip  to  Cincinnati  and  back.  The  State  of  Kentucky  had 
already  bought  the  macadamized  highway  coming  up  from  Lexington 
over  an  old  Indian  trail.  Elimination  of  road  tolls  drew  Covington 
and  interior  Kentucky  together,  but  the  city  was  more  closely  asso- 
ciated with  its  big  neighbor  to  the  north,  and  it  needed  better  means 
of  getting  across  the  Ohio.  In  1846  the  State  legislature  authorized 
the  building  of  a  bridge  over  to  Cincinnati,  but  work  on  the  structure 
was  postponed  periodically.  When  actual  construction  finally  began, 
along  came  the  panic  of  1857,  followed  by  the  War  between  the  States 
four  years  later,  and  work  was  stopped. 

Although  Kentucky  wanted  to  be  neutral  in  the  war,  neutrality  was 
impossible.  The  State  became  a  battleground,  and  Covington  an 
armed  camp,  half  its  citizens  Northern,  half  Southern,  in  sympathy 
and  enlistment.  Actual  warfare,  however,  came  only  as  close  to  Cov- 
ington as  Morgan's  and  Kirby  Smith's  raids  in  north-central  Kentucky. 

One  threatened  raid,  however,  had  beneficial  after-effects.  When 
a  detachment  of  Kirby  Smith's  men  was  detailed  to  terrorize  the  Cin- 
cinnati region,  Gen.  Lew  Wallace  declared  martial  law  in  Cincinnati, 
Newport,  and  Covington,  and  laid  a  pontoon  of  coal  barges  across  the 
Ohio  so  Cincinnati  troops  could  hurry  over  to  Covington  and  help 
build  earthworks  on  the  southern  border  of  the  town.  The  Con- 
federates skirmished  with  a  few  pickets,  and  then  withdrew. 

The  pontoon  bridge,  however,  had  proved  its  value.  After  the  War, 
work  on  the  Suspension  Bridge  was  resumed,  and  this  solid  symbol  of 
commercial  and  political  union  between  North  and  South  was  com- 


150  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

pleted  in  1866.  During  the  years  that  followed,  new  industries,  such 
as  brewing,  yeast  making,  and  distilling  were  established  and  old  ones, 
such  as  the  manufacture  of  tobacco  products,  were  enlarged.  Real 
estate  boomed  phenomenally.  In  1870,  although  the  taxable  value  of 
the  city's  property  was  700  percent  greater  than  it  had  been  30  years 
before,  suburbs  were  laid  out  rapidly  and  many  newcomers  settled  in 
new  homes.  All  this  growth  was  stunted,  however,  by  the  panic  of 
1873. 

Covington  aroused  itself  quickly  following  the  panic  years.  By  the 
end  of  the  decade  the  present  Federal  Building  was  completed.  During 
the  next  few  years  the  Maysville  and  Big  Sandy  Railroad  came  through 
from  Ashland,  and  in  1888  a  bridge  was  built  across  the  Ohio  River. 
In  1899  the.  city  waterworks  (in  Fort  Thomas)  was  completed.  In 
the  1890's  the  chamber  of  commerce  was  organized;  an  electric  power 
and  light  plant  built;  and  the  streetcar  system,  acquired  by  Cleveland 
capitalists,  fitted  with  single-trolley  electric  cars. 

During  this  long  middle  period,  characterized  industrially  by  the 
establishment  of  "one  man"  shops,  the  genius  of  Covington  flowered. 
John  G.  Carlisle  and  William  Goebel  grew  to  national  stature  polit- 
ically; Archbishop  Maes  inaugurated  the  construction  of  huge  St. 
Mary's  Cathedral;  and  Frank  Duveneck  painted  murals  in  Covington 
homes.  When  the  twentieth  century  arrived,  Dan  Beard,  raised  in 
Covington  on  the  banks  of  the  Licking,  began  his  program  of  young 
character  building  by  helping  to  found  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America. 

As  the  Nation  emerged  from  the  depression-ridden  1890's,  Coving- 
ton  industry  expanded.  The  "one  man"  businesses  grew  into  small  but 
substantial  industrial  concerns.  The  outstanding  Covington  example 
of  this  change  is  the  firm  that  supplies  X-ray  equipment  to  hospitals 
and  to  private  manufacturing  industries.  Another  company  that  grew 
up  within  the  last  40  years,  makes  the  machinery  that  wraps  razor 
blades  and  other  goods  into  small  packages.  Still  another  builds  cell 
blocks  for  prisons.  Many  more  produce  specialties  such  as  signs, 
ornamental  fences,  locks  and  safes,  and  a  host  of  other  things  not 
subject  to  mass  production.  In  addition,  several  packing  houses,  mill- 
ing establishments,  distilleries  and  breweries,  brick  and  tile  works, 
tobacco  warehouses,  and  rope-making  plants  are  in  the  city. 

From  time  to  time  the  Ohio  and  the  Licking  Rivers  have  overrun 
their  banks  and  pillaged  Covington.  The  flood  of  1832  taught  a 
lesson  that  was  not  well  learned,  for  the  floods  of  1883  and  1884 
brought  great  ruin — and  that  of  January  1937  was  even  worse.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  business  section  was  submerged.  Lights  and  power  were 
shut  off,  transportation  was  at  a  standstill,  and  schools  were  closed. 
Hospitals  were  badly  damaged,  but  their  staffs  worked  on  heroically. 
Property  loss  ran  into  the  millions.  By  summer  of  1937,  however, 
debris  had  been  cleared  away  and  buildings  repaired,  and  the  city  was 
back  to  normal.  Immediate  help  was  given  by  the  American  Red 
Cross,  and  Covington  citizens  quickly  rehabilitated  their  homes  and 
business  places. 


COVINGTON  151 

POINTS  OF  INTEREST 

1.  SUSPENSION  BRIDGE  (tolls  10$  and  15$;  pedestrians  2$) 
across  the  Ohio  River,  N.  end  of  Court  Ave.,  connects  Covington  with 
Cincinnati.     Designed  and  built  by  John  A.  Roebling  of  New  York, 
and  completed  at  a  cost  of  $1,871,000  in   1866,  this  is  the  first  of 
America's  great  suspension  bridges.    It  is  36  feet  wide  and  2,252  feet 
long,  and  its  towers  are  100  feet  high. 

2.  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  MEMORIAL  PARK,  Garrard  St. 
and  Riverside  Drive,  is  a  small  square  of  landscaped  ground  on  the 
Ohio  River  bank,  from  which  the  Cincinnati  waterfront  seems  but  a 
stone's  throw  away.    Near  the  alleyway  that  runs  behind  the  park  is 
the  SITE  OF  THE  THOMAS  KENNEDY  HOUSE,  marked  by  a  boulder  and 
inscribed  plaque.    Kennedy  operated  a  ferry  across  the  river  and  was 
a  congenial  host  in  the  stone  tavern,  called  Kennedy's  Ferry,  which 
he  erected  here  in  1801. 

3.  The  CARNEAL  HOUSE,  now  the  ROTHIER  HOME  (private), 
405  E.  2nd  St.,  was  built  in  1815  by  Thomas  D.  Carneal,  of  Coving- 
ton  and  Ludlow.     The  two-story  mansion,  set  above  the  street  level, 
is  designed  in  the  late  Georgian  Colonial  manner,  with  such  Italian 
Renaissance  detail  as  the  loggias  that  break  the  wide  front  of  the 
structure  on  the  first  and  second  stories.    The  main  doorway  is  a  fine 
example  of  the  Georgian  Colonial  style,  but  the  door  itself  is  of  a  later 
date.    Tradition  says  that  Carneal  aided  Negroes  to  escape  by  giving 
them  asylum  in  his  home  and  helping  them  to  cross  the  Ohio  into  free 
territory.    Eliza,  heroine  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  is  said  to  have  been 
aided  in  this  way. 

4.  DAN  CARTER  BEARD  BOYHOOD  HOME  (private),  322  E. 
3rd  St.,  a  comfortable  two-story  brick  residence  dating  from  the  mid- 
nineteenth  century,  bears  a  plaque  on  the  side  facing  Licking  River 
stating  that  here  lived,  in  his  boyhood,  the  founder  of  the  Boy  Scouts 
of  America.    As  a  boy  Beard  (b.  1850)  consorted  with  the  soldiers  at 
Newport  Barracks.    Later  he  became  well  acquainted  with  stories  and 
legends  of  Kentucky  pioneer  life,  and  formed  a  band  called  the  Sons 
of  Daniel  Boone.     The  youngsters  took  oath  and  named  themselves 
for  Boone,  Kenton,  and  other  noted  pioneers.    They  became  adept  at 
making  dugout  canoes,  brush  shelters,  and  other  woodcraft  necessities. 
When  Sir  Robert  Baden-Powell  formed  the  Boy  Scouts  of  England  in 
1908,  he  made  use  of  Beard's  plan  of  organization.     In  1910,  when 
the  Boy  Scouts  of  America  was  incorporated,  Beard  merged  the  Sons 
of  Daniel  Boone  with  the  Boy  Scouts.     Today  (1939)  the  American 
branch  of  the  world-wide  organization,  of  which  Beard  is  still  an  active 
member,  has  an  enrollment  of  about  a  million  and  a  half. 

5.  The  JOHN  W.  STEVENSON  HOME  (private),  318-320  Gar- 
rard St.,  built  about  1820,  is  a  two-story  brick  structure  fronted  by  a 
portico  of  white  fluted  columns.    The  large  windows  have  the  original 


152  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

mullioned  panes.  The  house  is  connected  by  a  large  brick  tunnel  with 
a  private  home  at  Seventh  and  Garrard  Streets.  According  to  local 
tradition,  a  second  tunnel  once  ran  from  a  mansion  on  Second  Street 
up  along  the  river  bank  into  the  backyard  of  the  Stevenson  home. 
Beneath  the  house  and  in  the  yard  are  huge  subterranean  cellars,  with 
thick  brick  walls,  said  to  have  been  used  for  concealing  slaves  during 
the  War  between  the  States.  Stevenson  was  Governor  of  Kentucky 
from  1867  to  1871. 

6.  The  CLAYTON  HOUSE  (private),  528  Greenup  St.,  a  story- 
and-a-half  white  frame  structure  built  of  ship's  timbers,  was  put  up 
in  1839  by  John  W.  Clayton,  and  is  now  the  residence  of  his  grand- 
daughter.    During  the  War  between  the  States  it  housed  a  private 
school,  kept  by  Clayton's  daughter,  among  whose  pupils  was  Frederick 
D.  Grant,  son  of  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant. 

7.  The   BAKER   HUNT    FOUNDATION   and   the   WILLIAMS' 
NATURAL  HISTORY  MUSEUM  (open  1-3  weekdays,  1-6  Sun.), 
620  Greenup  St.,  are  housed  in  simple  brick  buildings  adapted  to  edu- 
cational work.    The  dual  organization  is  the  result  of  two  gifts  to  the 
city  of  Covington.     Margaretta  W.  Hunt  provided  in  her  will  for  the 
establishment  of  the  foundation  (1931),  and  Archie  J.  Williams  gave 
the  rare  insects  he  collected  in  the  course  of  wide  travels  and  research. 
The  foundation  offers  after-school  classes  in  the  arts  and  crafts  for 
adults  and  children. 

The  Natural  History  Museum,  which  includes  the  Williams'  collec- 
tion and  later  accessions,  has  about  200,000  insect  specimens  and 
more  than  5,000  natural  history  volumes,  including  what  is  said  to  be 
the  largest  collection  of  books  on  insects.  Kentucky  plant  and  animal 
life  is  particularly  well  represented. 

8.  COVINGTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  (open  9-9  weekdays),  SE. 
corner  Robbins  St.  and  Scott  Blvd.,  established  through  an  act  of  the 
Kentucky  legislature  in  1898,  was  inadequately  housed  in  a  room  on 
Seventh  Street  until  a  gift  by  Andrew  Carnegie  made  possible  the 
present  two-story  concrete  building   (1901).     The  library  has  about 
50,000  volumes  for  adults  and  15,000  for  children,  and  a  great  deal  of 
miscellaneous  Kentuckiana.    In  the  building  is  an  auditorium  seating 
750  persons. 

9.  ST.   MARY'S   ROMAN   CATHOLIC   CATHEDRAL,  Madison 
Ave.  between  llth  and  12th  Sts.,  is  the  seat  of  the  Diocese  of  Coving- 
ton.     The  plan  of  the  nave,  transept,  and  apse,  designed  by  Leon 
Coquard,  begun  in   1895  and  finished  in   1900,  follows  that  of  the 
Abbey  of  St.  Denis,  France;   while  the  fagade,  designed  by  David 
Davis  in  1908  and  completed  two  years  later,  is  patterned  after  that 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  in  Paris.    The  bas-relief  above  the 
main  portal  is  Clement  J.  Barnhorn's  portrayal  of  the  Ascension  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.    The  two  front  towers  (now  128  feet  high,  eventually 
to  be  180)  are  surmounted  by  gargoyles. 

Within  the  massive  hand-tooled  doors  tall  graceful  columns  line  the 


Suspension  Bridge 

3eorge  Rogers  Clarlc  Memorial  Pork 

^arneal  House 

Jan  Carter  Beard  Boyhood  Home 

lohn  W.  Stevenson  Home 

Dayton  House 

taker  Hunt  Foundation  ond.Willioms 

Natural  History  Museum 

^ovington  Public  Library 

>t.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral 

:rank  Duveneck  Birthplace 

.inden  Grove  Cemetery 

.atonia  Race  Track 

Mother  ol  God  Cemetery 

Monte  Casino 

Devou  Park 

3oebel  Pork 

<elley-Koett  Manufacturing  Plant 

Kenton  Tobacco  Warehouse 


COVINGTON 

1938 


154  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

aisles.  Among  the  high  windows  of  the  nave  and  apse,  that  in  the 
north  wall,  24  by  67  feet,  depicts  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  the 
Council  of  Ephesus,  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  in  stained  and 
leaded  glass. 

The  mosaics  on  the  Stations  of  the  Cross  are  the  work  of  Italian 
artisans.  The  pulpit,  altar,  and  other  wooden  fixtures  were  hand- 
tooled  by  Swiss  craftsmen.  In  the  right  end  of  the  transept  is  the 
Chapel  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  on  the  walls  of  which  are  three 
frescoes  by  Frank  Duveneck,  Covington-born  artist.  Divided  into 
three  parts  like  the  medieval  triptych,  these  frescoes  have  as  their 
central  theme  Christ's  sacrifice  on  Calvary,  and  on  either  side  are 
shown  priests  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Law. 

10.  The   FRANK   DUVENECK   BIRTHPLACE    (private),    1226 
Greenup  St.,  is  a  simple  frame  house  marked  by  a  plaque.    Duveneck 
(1848-1919)   worked  for  several  local  church  decorators  and  later 
studied  art  in  Munich.    In  1875  he  exhibited  a  group  of  sensational 
paintings  in  Boston,  and  became  famous  in  this  country  overnight. 
After  his  wife  died  at  Florence,  Italy,  in  1888,  Duveneck  came  to 
Cincinnati  to  teach  at  the  Art  Academy,  and  became  the  dean  of  Ohio 
Valley  artists.     As  teacher  and  exemplar,  Duveneck  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  modern  American  art.     He  executed  the  murals  in  St. 
Mary's  Cathedral  as  a  gift  in  memory  of  his  mother.     Some  of  his 
paintings   are  on  the  walls   of   the   State  Historical   Museum    (Old 
Capitol)  in  Frankfort.     The  best  collection  is  in  the  Cincinnati  Art 
Museum,  to  which  Duveneck  donated  a  large  group  of  his  works  in 
1915. 

11.  LINDEN  GROVE  CEMETERY,  Holman  St.  between  13th  and 
15th  Sts.,  one  of  Covington's  oldest  burial  grounds,  contains  graves  of 
men  who  fought  in  the  Revolution  and  in  all  wars  of  the  United  States. 
Toward  the  rear  of  the  main  driveway  (R),  a  simple  stone  marks  the 
GRAVE  OF  JOHN  GRIFFIN  CARLISLE,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under 
Cleveland.     Carlisle,  who  was  born  in  Kenton  County  in  1835,  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  a  lawyer,  State  legislator,  Lieutenant  Governor, 
Congressman,  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.    In  1893 
Cleveland  selected  him  as  a  member  of  his  cabinet,  and  his  efforts  to 
avert  the  panic  of  that  year  won  him  wide  acclaim. 

12.  LATONIA  RACE  TRACK  (gate  open  the  year  around),  S.  end 
Latonia  Ave.,  opened  in  1883  by  the  Latonia  Agricultural  Association, 
is  one  of  the  great  running  tracks  of  America,  second  in  Kentucky  only 
to  Churchill  Downs,  home  of  the  Kentucky  Derby.    The  spring-summer 
racing  season  follows  the  May  meet  at  Churchill  Downs  with  a  31 -day 
schedule.    A  similar  late  fall  schedule  succeeds  the  autumn  season  at 
Churchill  Downs.    The  Latonia  Oaks,  Latonia  Cup,  and  Latonia  Cham- 
pionship stakes  are  among  the  regular  events,  but  the  greatest  attrac- 
tion is  the  Latonia  Derby,  a  mile-and-a-quarter  event  carrying  an 
added  purse  of  $15,000.     Latonia  has  been  dubbed  "Death  Valley" 
by  some  Kentucky  "hard  boots"  (chronic  backers  of  Kentucky  horses) 
because  they  believe  the  best  of  horses  are  beaten  here. 


COVINGTON  155 

13.  MOTHER  OF  GOD  CEMETERY,  27th  St.  and  Latonia  Ave., 
is  the  resting  place  of  many  who  have  brought  fame  to  Covington. 
The  GRAVE  OF  FRANK  DUVENECK,  marked  by  a  rose-colored  granite 
tomb,  is  to  the  right  of  the  driveway,  near  the  center  of  the  grounds. 

14.  MONTE  CASINO  (open  all  hours),  off  Highland  Pike  (entered 
over  a  twisting  road),  is  a  two-story  gray  brick  building,  constructed 
about   1850,  on  a  farm  owned  and  rented  out  by  the  Benedictine 
Fathers  of  St.  Vincent  Archabbey,  Latrobe,  Pa.    The  building  was  a 
family  residence  before  the  War  between  the  States.    The  estate  once 
contained  a  vineyard  yielding  grapes  for  the  sacramental   Benedic- 
tine and  Red  Rose  wines  produced  by  Brothers  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Benedict.     Wine  making  by  the  brothers  and  their  hired  help  was 
begun  soon  after  this  property  was  bought,  and  continued  until  Pro- 
hibition in  1919.    The  brothers  then  returned  to  Latrobe. 

About  1878  Brother  Albert  Soltis,  for  his  private  devotions,  erected 
what  is  widely  referred  to  as  the  TINIEST  CHAPEL  IN  THE  WORLD  (ac- 
commodating only  three  persons),  in  front  of  the  home  atop  the  cliff. 
Except  for  the  wood  in  the  door,  window  casing,  and  sash,  and  the 
glass  in  the  one  small  leaded  window,  it  is  entirely  of  native  limestone. 
The  interior  is  decorated  with  religious  emblems. 

15.  DEVOU  PARK,  entrance  Western  Ave.  between  6th  and  7th 
Sts.,  donated  to  the  city  in  1910,  is  a  550-acre  rolling  wooded  park 
that  looks  down  from  the  Knobs  directly  upon  Covington,  Ludlow,  and 
the  Ohio   River.     Thirty  miles  of  bridle  path,  athletic  and  picnic 
grounds,  and  a  lake,  public  golf  course,  target  range,  and  natural 
amphitheater  are  distributed  among  the  hills  and  valleys.    From  LOOK- 
OUT POINT  Cincinnati's  western  and  northern  hills  and  its  downtown 
office  buildings  appear  above  the  smoke  and  fog  that  often  hang  over 
this  populous  section  of  the  Ohio  Valley. 

16.  GOEBEL  PARK,  SW.  corner  5th  and  Philadelphia  Sts.,  is  a 
14-acre  civic  recreation  center  purchased  about  1906  from  the  late 
Gov.  William  Goebel.     It  has  swimming  pools,  baseball  and  football 
grounds,  and  a  shelter  house.     Band  concerts,  furnished  by  the  city 
throughout  the  summer,  are  attended  weekly  by  thousands. 

17.  KELLEY-KOETT    MANUFACTURING    PLANT    (open    by 
permission),  212  W.  4th  St.,  is  one  of  the  world's  largest  producers  of 
X-ray  equipment.     During  the  years  when  Roentgen  was  developing 
the  X-ray,  a  Virginia  boy,  John  Robert  Kelley,  was  experimenting 
with  methods  for  its  use.     He  came  to  Covington  and  became  ac- 
quainted with  Albert  B.  Koett,  who  backed  him  financially.     This 
partnership  was  the  basis  for  a  concern  (1903)  that  supplies  X-ray 
apparatus  to  industrial  and  clinical  laboratories  throughout  the  world. 

18.  KENTON   TOBACCO   WAREHOUSE    (open    during   winter 
sales  season,  Dec.-Feb.),  SW.  corner  2nd  St.  and  Scott  Blvd.,  one  of 
the  largest  loose-leaf  tobacco  warehouses  in  northern  Kentucky,  covers 
more  than  a  city  block.     It  is  a  typical  one-story  brick  structure 


156  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

equipped  to  handle  the  tobacco  that  the  growers  haul  here  to  be  sold. 
Sales  begin  on  or  about  the  first  of  December  and  continue  through 
February. 

POINTS  OF  INTEREST  IN  ENVIRONS 

Fort  Thomas  Military  Reservation,  5  m.  (see  Tour  3). 


FRANKFORT 


Railroad  Station:  Union  Station,  Ann  St.  and  Broadway,  for  Louisville  &  Nash- 
ville R.R.,  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry.,  Frankfort  &  Cincinnati  Ry. 
Bus  Station:  Ann  and  Main  Sts.  for  Greyhound  and  Nunelly  Lines. 
Local  Buses:  Fare  10^.    Service  from  downtown  to  all  residential  districts,  inclu- 
sive of  New  Capitol. 

Taxis:  25$  to  any  point  in  city;  $1  an  hour  with  a  10-mile  maximum  distance. 
Traffic  Regulations:   No  right  turn  on  red  lights.     Restricted  parking  areas  so 
marked.    Two  hours  parking  on  unmarked  streets. 

Accommodations:  Three  hotels.  Convenient,  reasonably  priced  rooming  houses 
open  to  tourists. 

Information  Service:  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Capital  Hotel. 
Motion  Picture  Houses:  Four. 

Fishing:  Forks  of  Elkhorn  (see  Tour  9),  4  m.,  for  bass. 
Baseball:  Hoge-Montgomery  Park,  State  37,  1  m.  N. 

FRANKFORT  (504  alt.,  11,626  pop.),  capital  of  Kentucky,  lies 
within  the  S-loops  of  the  Kentucky  River  as  it  thrusts  first  against  the 
eastern  and  then  against  the  western  bluffs  that  border  its  deep  and 
narrow  valley.  Upon  the  alluvial  plain,  through  which  meanders  the 
navigable  stream,  stands  the  city,  separated  by  the  river  into  north 
and  south  sides  which  are  connected  by  three  bridges. 

The  north  side  embraces  the  older  residential  section  of  the  city,  the 
Old  Capitol,  and  the  downtown  business  section.  The  south  side, 
chiefly  residential,  is  expanding  southward  to  and  beyond  the  New 
Capitol,  that  lifts  its  dome  high  above  the  roofs  and  spires  of  the  town. 
To  the  eastward,  beyond  the  city  limits,  where  US  60  traverses  the 
rolling  Bluegrass  highland,  an  addition  is  steadily  extending  the  urban 
area,  which,  inclusive  of  the  overflow  of  population  beyond  the  borders 
of  the  city  proper,  covers  approximately  four  square  miles. 

Along  Main  Street  and  the  intersecting  business  streets,  old  buildings 
of  brick  and  stone,  having  the  impression  of  earlier  generations,  are  in- 
terspersed with  substantial  and  imposing  modern  structures.  Loungers 
and  passers-by  represent  a  cross-section  of  every  phase  of  Kentucky  life. 

For  a  portion  of  each  year  politics  dominates  the  scene,  and  Frank- 
fort is  then  the  gathering  place  of  legislators  and  of  others  materially 
interested  in  legislation.  Year  in  and  year  out  the  city  is  the  home  of 
a  fluctuating  group  of  officeholders  and  State  employees. 

Workers,  white  and  Negro,  from  the  factories  within  the  city  and 
from  the  distilleries  in  its  environs,  throng  the  streets  on  holidays  or 
when  the  work  of  the  day  is  over,  and  farmers  from  the  rich  agricul- 
tural lands  in  the  vicinity  come  in,  especially  on  Saturdays,  to  do  their 
trading.  At  such  times  the  city  assumes  the  air  of  an  old-fashioned 
country  town,  its  streets  filled  with  a  leisurely  moving  crowd,  colorful, 

i57 


158  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

chattering,  parcel-laden.  Daily,  among  all  these,  move  men  and  women 
whose  traditions  root  deeply  in  the  past,  who  live  on  quiet  streets,  in 
old  houses  rich  in  history. 

It  is  probable  that  Christopher  Gist  was  the  first  white  man  to  view 
the  lovely  valley  in  which  Frankfort  lies;  his  journal  tells  of  being  in 
this  region  in  1751.  More  than  twenty  years  later,  in  1773,  Governor 
Dunmore  of  Virginia  sent  a  survey  party  into  the  West  to  look  into 
the  land;  Robert  McAfee  and  his  group  surveyed  and  claimed  some 
600  acres,  including  the  site  of  the  present  Capitol.  In  the  following 
year  land-hungry  adventurers  accepted  the  opportunity,  and  "squatted" 
in  miserable  shelters  on  the  land,  seeking  thus  to  get  by  the  law  which 
required  "settlement  and  improvement."  The  Indians  were  not  slow 
to  sense  the  menace.  Shawnee,  Miami,  Delaware  and  Wyandotte 
went  on  the  warpath,  murdering  and  burning  at  large.  So  grave  was 
the  situation  that  Virginia  was  compelled  to  send  militia  and  "Regulars" 
to  restore  peace  and  protect  the  settlers,  Lord  Dunmore  himself  head- 
ing one  regiment. 

In  1773  Hancock  Taylor  had  surveyed,  in  behalf  of  Robert  McAfee, 
lands  that  are  now  within  the  downtown  section  of  the  north  side. 
The  following  year  it  was  discovered  that  the  McAfee  claim,  always 
shadowy,  had  lapsed,  and  Humphrey  Marshall,  while  working  as  at- 
torney for  the  estate  of  Francis  McConnell,  secured  a  grant  from  the 
Province  of  Virginia.  The  McConnell  heirs  considered  this  a  breach 
of  trust  and  a  lawsuit  resulted,  which  the  court  settled  by  giving  the 
heirs  half  the  profits  Marshall  had  realized  from  his  title  to  the  land. 
Prior  to  the  settlement  of  this  suit,  known  as  Patrick  vs.  Marshall,  Gen. 
James  Wilkinson,  friend  of  Washington  and  one  time  commander  of 
American  armies  in  the  West,  later  involved  in  the  Burr  conspiracy, 
purchased  the  lands  from  Marshall  for  the  present-day  equivalent  of 
$433.  This  purchase,  made  in  1786,  gave  Wilkinson  a  not-too-clear 
title  to  the  major  portion  of  that  part  of  Frankfort  lying  north  of  the 
river — the  downtown  district. 

Wilkinson  immediately  set  about  organizing  the  new  town.  He  se- 
cured passage  of  an  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  (1786)  which  set 
aside  100  acres  as  a  town  site,  provided  a  ferry  and  fixed  its  rates. 
When  he  found  the  Kentucky  River  flooding  parts  of  the  city  as 
planned,  he  put  in  a  drainage  system.  The  town  as  platted  extended 
from  the  present  site  of  the  New  Capital  Hotel  westward  to  the  river, 
and  from  Fort  Hill,  the  height  that  overlooks  the  north  end  of  the  city, 
to  the  old  bridge  connecting  the  downtown  district  with  the  south  side. 
The  name  Frankfort  was  chosen  by  Wilkinson  in  memory  of  a  pioneer 
who,  some  years  earlier,  had  been  shot  by  Indians,  and  whose  surname, 
Frank,  had  already  been  given  to  a  ford  within  the  area  chosen  as  the 
town  site.  By  a  slight  change  the  name  "Frank's  Ford"  became 
"Frankfort."  Within  this  tract  streets  were  laid  out  and  named  in 
honor  of  the  general  and  his  friends.  Ann  Street,  running  north  and 
south  on  the  west  side  of  the  New  Capital  Hotel  was  named  for  his 
wife,  and  Mero  Street  for  the  Spanish  Governor  General  of  the  Prov- 


FRANKFORT  159 

ince  of  Louisiana  who  was  involved  with  Wilkinson  and  others  in  the 
historic  Burr  conspiracy.  The  name  of  Wapping  Street,  on  which  the 
post  office  is  now,  was  suggested  by  a  visiting  Englishman,  for  a  street 
in  London  famous  in  that  day  but  now  only  a  memory  recorded  in 
song.  Other  streets  bear  names  familiar  in  early  American  history. 

Wilkinson  visioned  Frankfort  as  a  port  of  the  Bluegrass  country, 
connected  directly  with  the  rising  towns  on  the  Ohio — also  with  New 
Orleans,  with  the  West  Indies  and  with  the  Atlantic  Coast.  The  ad- 
vent of  steamboating  encouraged  these  early  ambitions,  but  the  Lex- 
ington and  Ohio  railroad  entered  Frankfort  in  1835,  concentrating 
transfer  and  wholesale  business  at  Ohio  River  points.  Nevertheless 
the  town  prospered;  tobacco,  salt  pork,  skins,  and  hemp  gave  place  in 
business  importance  to  livestock  and  lumbering.  About  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century  Frankfort  again  became  an  important  primary 
tobacco  market  but  today  the  last  tobacco-floor  has  disappeared.  The 
vast  timberlands  of  the  upper  Kentucky  River  and  its  tributaries  made 
Frankfort  a  leading  sawmill  town  during  the  period  1865-1900.  The 
industry  also  has  vanished,  but  furniture  and  shoe  manufacturing,  once 
incidental  to  lumbering  and  local  Bluegrass  livestock  slaughtering,  still 
survive.  The  accessibility  and  quality  of  the  crystalline  limestone  of 
the  adjacent  bluffs,  known  as  "Kentucky  marble,"  not  only  provided 
the  material  out  of  which  the  statehouse  was  built  in  1827-1830  (see 
Point  of  Interest  No.  2),  but  for  many  of  the  earliest  business  build- 
ings and  homes.  The  bluffs  still  furnish  building  stone  for  the  more 
enduring  structures,  and  materials  for  extensive  road-building  about 
Frankfort. 

June  1,  1792,  Kentucky  became  the  fifteenth  State  of  the  Union,  and 
the  first  west  of  the  Alleghenies.  The  first  session  of  the  legislature 
convened  in  Lexington  on  November  5,  "to  fix  on  a  place  for  the  per- 
manent seat  of  government."  Five  commissioners  were  appointed  to 
consider  applications  from  various  points  that  included  Ledgerwood's 
Bend,  Delaney's  Ferry,  Petersburg,  Louisville,  Lexington,  Danville  and 
Leestown.  The  commissioners  demanded  a  free  site  and  the  expense 
of  erecting  necessary  buildings.  December  5,  Frankfort  was  adjudged 
to  be  "the  most  proper  place"  and  on  December  22  the  legislature 
adjourned  "to  hold  its  next  session  in  the  house  of  Andrew  Holmes,  at 
Frankfort,  on  the  Kentucky  River."  Holmes,  in  behalf  of  Frankfort, 
agreed  to  convey  to  the  government: 

(a)  For  seven  years,  the  house  and  tenement  lately  occupied  by  Gen.  James 
Wilkinson;  (b)  Absolutely,  the  lots  marked  Public  Ground,  Nos.  58,  59,  68,  74, 
75,  79,  83,  and  84;  (c)  Choice  of  30  lots  yet  unsold,  or  alternate-choice  of  half 
of  all  the  unsold  lots,  and  if  more  space  is  requisite  will  lay  off  into  half-acre  lots 
50  acres  more  and  convey  one-half  of  them;  (d)  The  rents  of  the  warehouse  for 
7  years;  (e)  10  boxes  10  x  12  window  glass,  1,500  Ibs.  nails,  £50  worth  of  locks  and 
hinges,  stone  and  scantling  for  building  to  an  equivalent  value,  all  delivered  upon 
the  Public  Ground — Or,  in  place  of  the  latter,  stone  that  will  build  1,590  perches 
of  wall  in  any  part  of  Frankfort,  and  the  use  of  Holmes's  sawmill,  carriage,  wagon, 
and  two  good  horses  until  a  sufficiency  of  scantling  for  a  statehouse  is  pro- 


160  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

cured,  and  the  privilege  of  timber  from  any  part  of  his  tract;  2d,  The  bond,  dated 
Aug.  9,  1792,  of  8  citizens  of  Frankfort — Harry  Innes,  Nat  Sanders,  Bennett  Pem- 
berton,  Benj.  Craig,  Jere  Craig,  Wm.  Haydon,  Daniel  James,  and  Giles  Samuel — 
to  pay  to  the  commissioners  $3,000  in  specie  (gold  or  silver). 

The  choice  of  the  little  village  on  the  Kentucky  River  midway  be- 
tween the  two,  settled  amicably,  if  not  to  their  individual  satisfaction, 
the  claims  of  Lexington  and  Louisville,  chief  contenders  for  the  Capitol 
site.  The  fact  of  its  central  location  satisfied  the  remainder  of  the 
State — for  the  time  only,  however.  Twice  the  Capitol  burned,  1815 
and  1824,  and  each  time  Frankfort's  availability  was  challenged  before 
the  structure  was  rebuilt. 

Perhaps,  when  "Jim"  Mulligan  told  in  his  ballad  how  politics  were 
"the  damnedest  in  Kentucky"  he  was  thinking  of  Frankfort  and  the 
General  Assembly.  There,  just  the  same,  leaders  have  been  developed 
and  history  made.  As  far  back  as  1811,  a  European  traveler  passing 
through  Frankfort  heard  that  the  legislature  was  in  session  and  thought 
he  would  drop  in  and  look  it  over.  "Backswoodsmen,"  he  supposed, 
were  less  competent  at  such  a  game  than  their  Eastern  rivals.  Thus 
he  reports:  "There  was  a  silver-tongued  orator  speaking.  .  .  .  'Gentle- 
men, we  must  have  war  with  Great  Britain —  War  will  ruin  her  com- 
merce—  Commerce  is  the  apple  of  Britain's  eye —  There  we  must  gouge 
her!'  "  He  was  convinced  of  his  error. 

Since  1825,  when  Lafayette  was  entertained  here,  the  presence  of 
the  State  Capitol  has  flavored  the  social  life  of  Frankfort  throughout 
the  years.  From  all  parts  of  Kentucky  have  come  men  and  women  to 
live  beside  its  quiet  streets  and  bring  distinction  to  the  city  by  their 
part  in  the  shaping  of  State  policies  and  development.  The  effect  has 
been  to  develop  a  distinguished  political  and  social  atmosphere.  Henry 
Clay,  John  J.  Crittenden,  Ninian  Edwards,  John  G.  Carlisle,  John  M. 
Harlan  and  many  others  have  trained  in  Frankfort  for  the  national 
scene.  The  social  tone  is  quiet  and  somewhat  reserved;  a  typically 
southern  city  where  what  one  is  takes  precedence  over  what  one  has. 

The  early  settlers  of  Kentucky,  notably  those  who  left  western  Penn- 
sylvania about  the  time  of  the  "Whisky  Rebellion"  (1791-1794),  were 
acquainted  with  the  methods  employed  in  the  British  Isles  in  the  dis- 
tilling of  whisky.  The  low  price  of  corn  and  wheat  on  western  markets 
favored  their  conversion  into  whisky,  a  product  that  improved  with 
age,  and  that  was  readily  transportable.  Out  of  this  economic  situa- 
tion developed  "corn  liquor"  for  which  Kentucky  is  famous.  From  the 
Civil  War  era,  Frankfort  began  the  commercial  development  of  its  dis- 
tilleries at  points  near  the  city  where  flowing  springs  furnish  limestone 
water,  a  prerequisite  to  a  first-class  product.  During  the  prohibition 
era  the  distilleries  about  Frankfort,  with  one  exception,  were  closed; 
they  resumed  operation  on  repeal  (1933)  of  the  Prohibition  Amend- 
ment. 

Only  once,  in  1862,  has  war  invaded  the  peace  of  Frankfort.  Bragg's 
Confederate  forces  swept  northward  out  of  Tennessee,  seized  the  city, 


FRANKFORT  l6l 

and  set  up  a  Confederate  State  Government.  Before  the  ceremonies 
of  installation  had  ended,  the  guns  of  the  North  were  hammering  from 
the  crest  of  the  bluffs  west  of  town.  The  Confederates  withdrew,  and 
the  new  Governor,  Richard  J.  Hawes,  hastily  retired  to  Lexington. 

The  years  of  reconstruction  and  those  that  have  followed  have  wit- 
nessed the  modernization  of  the  city,  the  development  of  its  schools,  the 
upbuilding  of  the  newer  section  of  the  city  adjacent  to  the  New  Capi- 
tol ;  but  the  city  as  a  whole  retains  the  quiet  charm  of  its  earlier  years. 
The  Capital  Bridge  is  the  most  recent  of  many  civic  improvements  that 
include  a  modern  system  of  public  schools,  an  excellent  hospital,  play- 
grounds, and  churches. 

The  Ohio  Valley  Flood  of  1937  brought  great  property  loss  to  Frank- 
fort. The  swollen  Ohio  formed  a  dam  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky, 
causing  that  river  to  rise  out  of  its  banks;  then  torrential  rains  within 
the  valley  inundated  the  city,  cut  it  in  two  parts,  flooded  cellars,  inter- 
rupted light,  gas,  and  water  service,  and  swirled  through  the  lower 
streets,  carrying  smaller  homes  and  business  houses  off  their  founda- 
tions. The  damage  to  properties,  personal  and  civic,  was  estimated  at 
$5,000,000.  Within  the  State  Reformatory,  one  of  the  oldest  penal  in- 
stitutions in  the  Nation,  the  water  rose  to  a  depth  of  six  feet,  and  the 
inmates  were  evacuated  to  the  heights  on  the  east  side  of  town.  Later, 
steps  were  taken  for  the  abandonment  of  the  old  stone-walled  enclosure 
for  a  less  restricted  and  more  healthful  site  near  LaGrange. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST 

1.  The  NEW  CAPITOL  (open  9-5  weekdays),  S.  end  of  Capitol 
Ave.,  encircled  by  a  broad  drive,  stands  within  an  extensive  grassy 
plot  on  a  gentle  slope  overlooking  the  Kentucky  River.  The  main,  or 
north,  entrance  is  approached  from  Capitol  Avenue  by  a  walk  and 
flights  of  steps  that  accentuate  the  elevation  of  the  building  above  the 
surrounding  area.  The  superstructure,  gleaming  white  in  the  sun,  is  of 
Bedford  stone  on  a  high  granite  base.  Surrounding  the  lower  story  is 
a  broad  paved  terrace  with  balustrade.  Designed  with  majestic  sym- 
metry, the  exterior  is  adorned  with  Ionic  colonnades,  entablature  and 
crowning  balustrade;  its  simple  rectangular  lines  are  broken  only  by 
the  massive  pedimented  central  section  and  smaller  end  pavilions. 
The  dominant  feature  of  the  exterior  is  the  high  central  dome,  raised 
on  a  graceful  Ionic  peristyle,  or  drum,  and  crowned  with  a  slender  lan- 
tern cupola. 

The  designer  of  the  richly  sculptured  pediment,  above  the  north 
entrance,  was  Charles  Henry  Niehaus,  of  New  York.  It  was  executed 
by  Peter  Rossack,  of  Austria.  Frank  M.  Andrews  was  the  architect  of 
the  building  completed  in  1909  at  a  cost  of  $1,820,000. 

Beyond  the  vestibule,  where  visitors  register  and  guides  are  provided, 
is  the  central  corridor.  The  floors  are  of  Tennessee  marble,  the  wain- 


l62  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

scoting  and  pilasters  of  Georgia  marble;  monolithic  Vermont  granite 
columns,  36  in  number,  ornament  the  interior.  Among  the  paintings 
that  adorn  the  interior  are  the  LUNETTES  in  the  east  and  west  ends  of 
the  corridor.  These  murals,  executed  by  T.  Gilbert  White,  of  Michigan, 
portray  events  in  the  early  history  of  Kentucky. 

On  the  first  floor,  directly  beyond  the  vestibule  and  beneath  the  mas- 
sive dome,  is  the  HALL  OF  FAME,  where  stand  four  memorials  to  noted 
Kentuckians.  In  the  center  is  a  bronze  figure  of  Abraham  Lincoln  by 
A.  A.  Weinmann.  Nearby  is  the  statue  of  Jefferson  Davis,  President 
of  the  Confederacy,  the  work  of  Frank  Hibbard,  and  a  plaster  facsimile 
of  C.  H.  Niehaus'  marble  statue  of  Henry  Clay,  the  conciliator.  A 
marble  statue  of  Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell,  by  Niehaus,  honors  the  great 
pioneer  in  the  field  of  abdominal  surgery. 

The  chambers  of  the  senate  and  the  house  of  representatives  are  on 
the  third  floor.  Visitors  are  admitted  to  the  galleries  when  the  legis- 
lature is  in  session. 

On  the  grounds  of  the  Capitol,  and  overlooking  the  Kentucky  River, 
is  the  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  residence  of  Kentucky's  Governors.  It 
harmonizes  in  architectural  detail  with  the  Capitol. 

2.  OLD  CAPITOL  (open  9-12,  1-4:30  weekdays),  St.  Clair  St.  and 
Broadway.  Twice,  in  the  early  days  of  statehood,  the  Capitol  burned. 
The  edifice,  now  known  as  the  "Old  Capitol,"  is  an  excellent  example  of 
the  Greek  Revival  style  of  architecture,  and  first  of  the  many  notable 
buildings  designed  by  Kentucky's  early-day  architect,  Gideon  Shryock. 
It  was  built  (1827-1830)  out  of  the  native  rock  of  the  bluffs  of  the 
Kentucky  River.  This  rock,  a  durable  white  limestone,  was  sawn  at 
nearby  quarries,  and  the  timbers  were  hewn  out  of  the  native  forest. 
The  entire  cost  of  this  statehouse  that  served  the  State  for  eight  decades 
was  $95,000. 

Set  into  the  concrete  walk  to  the  portico  is  a  bronze  tablet  that  marks 
the  spot  where,  in  1900,  William  Goebel,  contender  for  the  governor- 
ship, fell,  shot  by  an  assassin  whose  identity  never  has  been  divulged. 
Three  days  later  Goebel  died,  after  having  been  proclaimed  Governor 
by  the  legislature  then  in  session.  He  was  succeeded  in  office  by 
Lieutenant-Governor  J.  C.  W.  Beckham.  At  once  a  number  of  sus- 
pects were  apprehended  and  put  on  trial.  One  turned  State's  evidence 
whereat  three  were  convicted;  Secretary  of  State  Caleb  Powers  was 
given  the  death  penalty.  In  course  of  time  all  were  pardoned  and 
Powers  was  later  sent  to  Congress. 

The  front  fagade  of  the  building  is  dominated  by  a  hexastyle  portico 
of  the  Ionic  order.  The  columns,  each  four  feet  in  diameter  and  33 
feet  high,  carry  the  weight  of  the  massive,  severely  plain  pediment. 
The  walls  and  stone  window  casings  are  also  unadorned.  Above  the 
copper  roof  rises  the  cupola,  a  pedestal  25  feet  square,  on  which  stands 
a  circular  lantern  22  feet  in  diameter,  surmounted  by  a  dome.  Inside 
the  great  double  doors  are  floors  of  "Kentucky  marble,"  polished  and 
mellowed  in  color  by  more  than  a  century  of  use.  A  broad  corridor 
extends  back  to  the  rotunda  beneath  the  dome,  where  a  transverse  cor- 


KEY 

1.  New  Capitol 

2.  Old  Capitol 

3.  Liberty  Hall 

4.  Frankfort  Cemetery 

5.  State  Arsenal 

6.  Capital  Bridge 

7.  State  Industrial  Insti- 
tute 


FRANKFORT 

1938 


164  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

ridor  leads  to  exits  on  either  side  of  the  building.  On  the  right  of  the 
entrance  are  the  offices  of  the  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  (open  9-12, 
1-4:30  weekdays),  custodian  of  a  rich  collection  of  Kentuckiana.  Left 
is  the  LIBRARY  (open  9-12, 1—4:30  weekdays),  a  treasure-house  of  Ken- 
tucky history. 

From  the  main  floor  to  the  balcony  rises  the  beautifully  executed 
double  stairway  of  self-supporting  stones  designed  by  Shryock.  In  its 
construction  the  architect  made  free  use  of  the  principles  that  govern 
the  construction  and  support  of  the  Roman  arch. 

On  the  second  floor  are  the  large,  simply-designed  rooms  where  the 
houses  of  the  legislature  met.  These  two  rooms  have  collections  of 
historic  value.  On  the  walls  of  the  building  hang  paintings  that  recall 
the  history  of  the  State  from  earliest  days.  Among  these  is  Oliver 
Frazer's  copy  of  Stuart's  Washington,  the  Historical  Society's  most 
valued  possession. 

3.  LIBERTY  HALL  (open  9-5  weekdays,  adm.  25$),  218  Wilkinson 
St.,  was  originally  the  home  of  John  Brown,  first  United  States  Senator 
from  Kentucky,  who,  with  his  family,  occupied  it  in  1796.  Since  that 
time  until  1937,  when  it  was  taken  over  by  the  State,  it  remained  in 
possession  of  his  heirs.  It  stands  in  the  corner  of  a  large  lawn  and 
garden  that  extends  back  to  the  river.  Late  Georgian  Colonial  in 
architecture,  it  is  simple  and  dignified  in  its  lines.  A  short  walk  leads 
from  the  street  to  an  entrance  above  which  rises  a  fine  Palladian  win- 
dow. Within  the  entrance  a  broad  hall  opens  on  either  side  into  spa- 
cious, high-ceilinged  rooms,  heated  by  huge  fireplaces.  Mantels  and 
other  interior  woodwork  are  hand-carved. 

At  the  rear  of  the  main  hall  a  stairway  rises  to  the  second  floor  where 
in  early  days  a  large  ballroom  was  the  scene  of  many  entertainments. 
The  remainder  of  this  story  was  originally  divided  into  guest  rooms  and 
sleeping  rooms  for  the  family;  it  is  now  somewhat  altered.  In  the  attic 
and  in  the  great  basement,  other  rooms  provided  space  for  the  liberal 
entertainment  that  was  part  of  the  family  scheme  of  living.  Monroe, 
Lafayette,  William  Henry  Harrison,  Jackson,  Taylor,  "Teddy"  Roose- 
velt, among  others,  were  entertained  in  this  home.  The  furnishings  are 
the  former  personal  possessions  of  the  Brown  family.  A  portrait,  by 
Gilbert  Stuart,  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  family  hangs  on  a  down- 
stairs wall.  The  piano  and  some  music  that  belonged  to  Margaretta, 
wife  of  the  builder,  remain. 

The  area  bounded  by  Wapping,  Wilkinson,  Washington  and  Main 
Streets  is  known  as  the  CORNER  OF  CELEBRITIES.  Brown  owned  the 
entire  block  on  which  Liberty  Hall  stands.  For  his  son  Orlando  he 
built  the  house  that  stands  on  the  opposite  corner.  Around  this  nucleus 
developed  a  remarkable  neighborhood.  During  the  five  generations 
since  the  Browns  first  made  their  home  in  Frankfort,  the  little  neigh- 
borhood has  been  the  birthplace,  or  the  later  home,  of  two  Justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  nine  United  States  Senators,  six  Representatives, 
seven  Ambassadors,  and  three  Admirals  of  the  United  States  Navy. 


FRANKFORT  165 

Two  other  residents — Marshall  M.  Bibb  and  John  J.  Crittenden — 
served  in  the  Federal  Cabinet. 

4.  FRANKFORT  CEMETERY,  E.  Main  St.,  lies  along  the  edge 
of  the  bluff  that  overlooks  Frankfort  from  the  east.    Within  its  rolling 
acres  are  the  graves  of  distinguished  Kentuckians.    Near  the  entrance 
(R)  is  the  GOEBEL  MONUMENT,  where  is  buried  the  man  who  in  1900 
was  assassinated  on  the  steps  of  the  Old  Capitol. 

At  a  point  where  the  drive  closely  skirts  the  edge  of  the  bluff  (R), 
is  the  BOONE  MEMORIAL.  A  footpath  winds  downward  from  the  drive 
to  the  single  grave  beneath  the  trees  where  lie  Daniel  Boone  and  Re- 
becca Boone,  first  of  the  pioneers.  The  monolithic  limestone  memorial 
that  stands  above  their  grave  was  quarried  from  the  Kentucky  River 
cliffs  at  Boonesboro,  where  in  1775  Daniel  helped  establish  the  first 
seat  of  government  in  the  West.  On  the  four  sides  of  the  monolith  are 
inset  panels  of  Italian  marble,  representing  scenes  from  the  life  of  the 
frontiersman. 

After  the  settlement  of'  Kentucky  began  in  earnest  Boone,  unfortu- 
nate in  his  business  enterprises,  moved  his  family  into  the  wilderness 
west  of  the  Mississippi  which  was  then  a  Spanish  possession.  In  1820 
he  died  at  the  home  of  his  son  Nathan  Boone,  in  the  southern  section 
of  St.  Charles  County,  Mo.  In  1845  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
brought  his  remains  to  Frankfort  and  erected  the  memorial. 

From  the  center  of  an  oval  plot,  known  as  STATE  CEMETERY,  rises 
the  tall  Carrara  marble  shaft  of  the  monument,  dedicated  by  the  State 
in  1850  to  the  memory  of  Kentuckians  who  fell  in  foreign  wars.  Sur- 
mounting the  shaft  is  the  figure  of  Victory  designed  by  Robert  E. 
Launitz  of  New  York.  He  also  executed  the  monument.  The  Victory 
and  the  four  eagles  seen  at  its  feet  were  made  in  Italy  from  detail  de- 
signs by  Launitz.  Inscriptions  on  the  four  sides  of  the  shaft  tell  the 
part  that  Kentucky  has  played  in  the  wars  of  the  Nation.  Encircling 
the  base  are  the  graves  of  soldiers  whose  remains  were  brought  here 
from  the  battlefields  of  the  Mexican  War. 

Within  the  oval,  just  outside  the  circle  of  soldier  dead,  is  the  TOMB 
OF  THEODORE  O'HARA,  citizen  of  Frankfort,  editor,  soldier  of  the 
Mexican  War  and  of  the  War  between  the  States.  Engraved  upon  his 
tomb  are  verses  from  his  ode,  the  Bivouac  of  the  Dead,  memorializing 
his  comrades  of  the  Mexican  War. 

Beyond  the  O'Hara  tomb,  at  the  southern  tip  of  the  oval  and  screened 
by  heavy  foliage,  is  the  COL.  RICHARD  M.  JOHNSON  TOMB.  Johnson 
led  the  Kentucky  troops  who  in  1813,  at  the  Battle  of  the  Thames, 
helped  break  the  Indian  power  north  of  the  Ohio.  He  is  credited  with 
killing  Tecumseh,  the  Indian  leader,  in  this  battle. 

5.  STATE  ARSENAL  (not  open  to  public)^  E.  Main  St.,  at  foot  of 
hill,  attracts  attention  by  its  commanding  position,  rather  than  from  its 
size  or  style  of  architecture,  which  with  its  ornamental  battlements  and 
turrets  is  suggestive  of  the  Tudor.    It  was  erected  in  1850  as  a  storage- 
house  for  equipment  and  materials  belonging  to  the  State  Militia  and 
it  still  serves  that  purpose. 


166  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

6.  CAPITAL  BRIDGE,  E.  Main  St.  and  Capitol  Ave.,  is  dedicated 
to  the  memory  of  those  who  fell  in  the  World  War.     It  unites  north 
and  south  Frankfort,  crossing  the  Kentucky  River  at  a  level  that  assures 
uninterrupted  highway  communication  in  the  event- of  a  flood  similar  to 
that  of  1937,  when  all  highway  travel  by  way  of  Frankfort  was  sus- 
pended. 

The  area  between  Capital  Bridge  and  the  intersection  of  East  Main 
and  Ann  Streets  (L)  is  one  of  the  oldest  business  blocks  in  the  west. 
The  STONE  HOUSE,  the  first  abutting  the  street  on  the  left,  was  built 
by  John  Hampton,  an  early  settler.  A  few  doors  beyond  an  old  build- 
ing reveals  itself  as  a  clapboarded  LOG  HOUSE,  one  of  the  first  in  the 
growing  village.  First  built  as  a  home,  it  has  served  several  uses  since. 
The  largest  building  in  the  row,  formerly  a  livery  stable,  is  used  as  a 
garage.  The  buildings  between  the  old  barn  and  the  Ann  Street  corner 
are  of  the  same  early  period.  The  great  hewn  timbers,  doorways,  win- 
dows, worn  thresholds,  chimneys,  weathered  siding  between  the  build- 
ings all  attest  their  age.  At  the  southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Ann 
Streets,  a  BRONZE  MARKER  attached  to  the  Ann  Street  wall  of  the 
building  tells  that  a  few  feet  from  the  corner,  and  toward  the  river  at 
a  jog  in  the  building  line  abutting  the  street,  the  first  stake  was  driven 
of  the  original  survey  of  the  town  site. 

7.  STATE  INDUSTRIAL  INSTITUTE  (Kentucky  Negro  College), 
E.  Main  St.  and  City  Limits,  is  a  teachers'  training  school  for  Negroes. 
The  plant  is  on  a  35-acre  campus  overlooking  the  northwestern  section 
of  Frankfort  and  consists  of  six  modern,  well-equipped  school  build- 
ings, together  with  dormitories  provided  for  students  and  faculty.     A 
farm  of  265  acres,  owned  and  operated  by  the  school,  lies  immediately 
south  of  the  highway  and  serves  as  an  out-of-doors  laboratory  for  stu- 
dents in  agriculture.    It  is  equipped  with  barns,  a  silo,  cattle  and  hog 
sheds,  and  a  poultry  building.    Training  for  steam  and  electrical  engi- 
neering, manual  training,  dressmaking  and  domestic  science  is  stressed. 
Students  also  may  receive  a  thorough  training  in  teaching,  for  which 
purpose  there  are  maintained  elementary  courses  that  any  Negro  child 
may  attend.    The  institution  possesses  the  finest  library  of  Negro  lit- 
erature in  Kentucky. 

Under  the  laws  of  Kentucky  white  and  Negro  children  are  separately 
educated.  Negro  children  receive  training  under  Negro  teachers.  An 
impartial  pro-rata  division  of  school  funds  assures  to  children  of  both 
races  their  full  share  of  school  equipment  and  of  teacher-service.  To 
meet  the  demand  so  created  with  trained  men  and  women,  the  State 
Industrial  Institute  was  founded  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  in  1886. 
The  Negro  illiteracy,  estimated  at  96  percent  in  the  late  1860's,  now 
averages  5  percent  for  the  State  as  a  whole. 


FRANKFORT  167 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST  IN  ENVIRONS 

8.  US  LOCK  4,  N.  end  of  Kentucky  Ave.  (open),  part  of  the  engi- 
neering improvement  by  which  the  Kentucky  River  is  made  navigable. 

9.  HEMP  MILLS  (Kentucky  River  Mills),  Wilkinson  St.  extended, 
N.  of  City  Limits. 

10.  O.F.C.  (Frank  Stagg)  DISTILLERY  (open  weekdays  on  appli- 
cation), Leestown  Pike  (Wilkinson  St.  extended),  where  Bourbon  (corn) 
whisky  is  manufactured. 


HARRODSBURG 


Railroad  Station:  Depot  and  Office  Sts.,  for  Southern  Ry. 

Bus  Station:  Main  and  Lexington  Sts.,  adjoining  post  office,  for  Greyhound  and 

Fleenor  Lines. 

Taxis:  25^  within  city  limits;  10#  per  mile  outside  city. 

Accommodations:  One  hotel;  inns,  and  tourist  homes. 
Information  Service:  Chamber  of  Commerce,  in  Hotel  Harrod. 
Motion  Picture  Houses:  Two. 

Annual  Events:  Historical  pageant,  usually  June  16;  Mercer  County  Fair,  last  week 
in  July;  Fox  Hound  Show,  second  day  of  fair. 

HARRODSBURG  (824  alt.,  4,585  pop.),  first  permanent  white  set- 
tlement in  Kentucky,  is  on  a  hill  of  the  Bluegrass  just  west  of  the  upper 
Kentucky  River. 

Set  on  a  lawn  facing  the  main  street,  the  Mercer  County  Courthouse 
lifts  a  white  clock  tower  and  cupola  high  over  the  countryside.  Around 
it  hurries  the  vigorous  life  of  this  tourist  city.  Along  College  Street 
old  families  live  in  homes  designed  in  early  nineteenth  century  styles. 

Around  the  city  in  all  directions  cluster  horse  farms,  tobacco  farms, 
and  chicken  farms  with  their  distinctive  houses  in  the  southern  planta- 
tion manner. 

Harrodsburg's  fine  homes  and  mineral  springs  are  less  cherished  than 
the  historic  shrines  assembled  here  in  Pioneer  Memorial  State  Park. 
Kentucky  looks  to  Harrodsburg  for  reminders  of  long  struggles  dur- 
ing surveying  and  settlement;  and  great  deeds  of  men  like  James  Har- 
rod and  George  Rogers  Clark  are  commemorated  here. 

Early  in  1773  Governor  Dunmore  of  Virginia  sent  surveyors  into 
Kentucky  to  survey  public  land,  to  be  used  in  paying  off  veterans  of 
the  French  and  Indian  War.  One  of  these  surveying  parties,  led  by 
Thomas  Bullitt  and  James  Harrod,  left  Fort  Pitt  in  the  spring  of  1773 
and  descended  the  Ohio  River  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha.  Here 
the  party  met  the  McAfee  brothers — Robert,  William,  James,  and 
George — who  had  left  Virginia  on  a  similar  mission.  The  two  parties 
joined  forces  and  continued  down  the  Ohio  River  to  Big  Bone  Lick, 
where  they  camped  July  4  and  5.  On  July  7  they  separated.  Bullitt 
and  his  followers  went  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  where  they  laid  out  the 
site  of  Louisville.  Harrod  accompanied  the  McAfees  up  the  Kentucky 
River  beyond  the  present  site  of  Frankfort,  where  they  crossed  over 
into  the  valley  of  the  Salt  River.  At  its  headwaters  they  located  two 
proposed  settlements,  one  by  James  Harrod  where  Harrodsburg  now 
stands,  the  other  by  the  McAfees  a  few  miles  north.  They  then  re- 

168 


HARRODSBURG  169 

turned  to  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  to  plan  for  a  migration  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring. 

Early  in  1774  James  Harrod  and  31  other  men  returned  to  the  site 
of  Harrodsburg.  On  June  16,  1774,  a  settlement  called  Harrodstown 
was  laid  out  near  Boiling  Springs,  three  miles  east  of  the  later  Harrod's 
Fort.  A  half-acre  town  lot  and  a  10-acre  out-lot  were  assigned  to  each 
man.  All  the  men  took  shares,  but  only  five  or  six  cabins  were  built 
that  summer. 

On  July  20,  1774,  while  resting  near  a  spring,  four  Harrodstown  men 
were  fired  on  from  the  underbrush.  One  was  killed.  Two  fled  through 
the  woods  to  the  Ohio  River;  they  went  down  the  Mississippi  to  New 
Orleans,  and  took  ship  for  Philadelphia.  The  fourth  ran  to  the  settle- 
ment and  told  of  the  attack. 

The  Indians  were  on  the  warpath!  Early  that  summer  they  attacked 
surveyors  and  settlers  north  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  Lord  Dunmore  sent 
Daniel  Boone  and  Michael  Stoner  to  order  the  return  of  Kentucky  sur- 
veyors until  the  Indian  war  was  over.  By  the  end  of  1774  the  cabins 
at  Harrodstown  were  deserted  and  few  white  men  remained  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

While  Daniel  Boone,  in  the  employ  of  the  Transylvania  Company, 
was  blazing  the  trail  across  the  mountains  to  the  site  of  Boonesboro, 
James  Harrod  and  30  men  in  March  1775  occupied  cabins  built  the 
previous  year.  On  higher  ground  they  constructed  a  palisaded  village. 
It  was  a  defensive  arsenal  and  fortified  town,  the  residents  serving  as 
a  garrison  ready  to  protect  settlers  living  on  the  outside.  Women  and 
children  arrived  in  September  1775. 

Late  in  the  summer  of  that  year,  James  Ray,  a  boy  of  16,  was  hunt- 
ing near  the  fort.  He  had  just  killed  and  roasted  a  blue-winged  duck 
when  a  "soldierly  looking"  man  stepped  from  the  forest.  The  boy 
offered  to  share  his  duck.  "The  man  seemed  starved  and  ate  all  of  it," 
Ray  said  later.  The  stranger  asked  a  great  many  questions  about  the 
settlement,  and  Ray  offered  to  lead  him  to  the  fort.  In  this  way,  ac- 
cording to  old  accounts,  George  Rogers  Clark  introduced  himself  to 
Harrodstown  (later  Harrodsburg),  and  became  its  leader. 

Besides  the  usual  pioneer  troubles,  Harrodstown  settlers  soon  faced 
the  problem  of  proving  title  to  their  land.  The  Transylvania  Company 
claimed  a  large  tract  of  Kentucky  land  through  purchase  from  the 
Cherokee.  The  company  attempted  to  exert  authority  over  the  terri- 
tory settled  by  Harrod  and  others.  Clark  called  a  meeting  of  the  set- 
tlers in  June  1776.  The  settlers  authorized  Clark  and  Gabriel  Jones 
to  go  to  Virginia  to  re-establish  their  claims. 

The  two  men  set  out  over  the  Wilderness  Trail,  but  in  the  Cumber- 
land foothills  were  halted  by  an  acute  case  of  "scaldfeet."  They  were 
delayed  just  long  enough  to  prevent  their  arrival  at  Williamsburg,  Vir- 
ginia, before  adjournment  of  the  assembly.  Clark  went  to  Governor 
Henry,  who  gave  him  a  letter  of  approval  to  the  council  of  state.  The 
council  offered  to  lend  him  500  pounds  of  powder  if  he  would  defend 
and  settle  the  country  across  the  mountains.  Clark  refused,  saying  that 


I7O  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

a  country  not  worth  claiming  is  not  worth  protecting.  Clark  was  then 
given  the  powder,  with  the  assurance  that  Virginia  would  back  him. 

As  Clark  returned  to  Kentucky  he  was  hotly  pursued  by  Indians 
along  the  Kentucky  River  and  was  forced  to  land^at  Limestone  (now 
Maysville)  to  hide  the  powder.  On  the  way  to  Harrodsburg  he  met 
a  group  of  surveyors.  They  returned  to  the  powder  cache,  recovered 
the  explosive,  and  took  it  to  Harrodsburg.  Clark  evidently  conceived 
the  idea  of  attacking  the  British  in  the  northern  territory  either  before 
or  while  he  was  at  Harrodsburg,  for  he  obtained  permission  from  Gov. 
Patrick  Henry  to  attack  wherever  he  thought  advisable. 

Throughout  the  Revolutionary  War,  Harrodsburg  was  the  seat  of 
Kentucky  County,  which  was  organized  in  December  1776.  According 
to  the  census,  the  town  had  a  population  of  198  persons,  of  whom  81 
were  eligible  for  military  duty.  The  first  court  held  in  Kentucky  con- 
vened January  16,  1781,  in  the  blockhouse  at  Harrodsburg.  One  of  the 
first  cases  tried  was  that  of  Hugh  McGary,  charged  with  playing  the 
races.  He  was  found  guilty  as  charged,  and  the  court  proclaimed  him 
"an  infamous  gambler  .  .  .  not  [to]  be  eligible  to  any  office  of  trust 
or  honor  within  the  State." 

Harrodsburg  people  were  industrious  and  thrifty.  In  1775  John 
Harman  raised  the  first  corn  in  Kentucky  in  a  field  at  the  east  end  of 
Harrodsburg.  The  first  woolen  mill  and  the  first  gristmill  in  the  West 
were  operated  here,  and  pottery,  plows,  flour,  and  textiles  were  manu- 
factured. 

The  first  school  in  the  State  was  conducted  within  the  fort  in  1778. 
The  teacher  had  no  textbooks,  and  the  children  used  smooth  boards  for 
paper  and  juice  of  ox  galls  for  ink.  They  learned  to  write  and  read, 
and  studied  the  Bible  and  hymnals. 

By  1800  the  community  was  prosperous.  Rich  farm  lands  surround- 
ing the  town  encouraged  cultivation  of  flax,  hemp,  tobacco,  and  other 
money  crops.  Harrodsburg's  industries  thrived.  Then  the  development 
of  roads  to  other  Kentucky  settlements  and  the  coming  of  the  steam- 
boat in  1811  shifted  Kentucky's  major  trade  routes.  Harrodsburg  fell 
back  on  agriculture,  and  developed  a  tourist  trade — at  first  because  of 
its  sulphur  springs,  later  because  of  its  historic  interest.  Harrodsburg 
was  the  summer  resort  of  plantation  owners  in  the  Deep  South,  and 
Graham  Springs  alone  is  said  to  have  had  more  than  a  thousand  guests 
at  one  time. 

Despite  its  industrial  collapse  Harrodsburg  so  profited  from  tourist 
business  and  marketing  that  the  period  1820-1860  was  one  of  steady 
growth.  Log  cabins  gave  way  to  more  genteel  houses  modeled  after 
the  mansions  on  the  Potomac  and  James  Rivers.  Bacon  College  was 
removed  from  Georgetown  to  Harrodsburg  in  1839,  and  remained  here 
until  destroyed  by  fire  in  1864,  when  it  was  merged  with  Transylvania 
College  at  Lexington.  Greenville  Female  College,  later  known  as 
Daughters'  College,  now  Beaumont  Inn,  began  in  1840.  In  1847  there 
were  two  female  academies:  one,  under  the  management  of  the  Chris- 


HARRODSBURG  171 

tian  Church,  enrolled  60  to  70  students;  the  other,  under  the  care  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  100  to  120  students. 

During  this  period  many  men  of  distinction  were  born  or  lived  in 
Harrodsburg.  Gabriel  Slaughter  (1818-20),  John  Adair  (1821-24) 
(see  History),  and  Beriah  Magoffm  (1859-62)  became  Governors  of 
Kentucky;  George  S.  Houston  took  the  same  high  office  in  Georgia. 
John  B.  Thompson  was  a  United  States  Senator  (1853-59).  William 
Marcus  Linney  (1835-87)  was  a  pioneer  Kentucky  botanist  and 
geologist. 

This  era  of  prosperity  was  seriously  interrupted  by  the  War  between 
the  States.  Nearly  all  nearby  farmers  were  slave  owners.  Their  slaves 
were  liberated,  their  fields  laid  bare,  their  livestock  and  horses  taken, 
and  their  estates  impoverished.  Property  built  up  through  three  gen- 
erations passed  into  other  hands.  The  family  ownership  of  practically 
all  the  old  homes  of  Harrodsburg  can  be  traced  back  no  further  than 
1870,  when  the  population  was  2,200. 

In  the  decades  that  followed,  rehabilitation  and  growth  were  slow. 
Competition  from  imported  sisal  and  jute,  because  of  practically  no 
tariff  protection,  caused  the  hemp  industry  to  fail.  Prices  of  grain 
were  uncertain,  and  tobacco  gradually  became  the  chief  money  crop. 
Little  by  little,  farms  restocked  sheep  and  beef  cattle,  and  by  1900 
Harrodsburg  had  regained  some  of  its  prosperity. 

During  the  last  30  years  Harrodsburg  has  become  the  trade  center  of 
a  farming  region  producing  exceptional  trotting  horses,  poultry,  and 
white  burley  tobacco;  its  few  industries  operate  on  power  furnished  by 
the  Dix  Dam  hydro-electric  plant.  Its  tourist  and  resort  trade  is  enor- 
mous. Throughout  the  warm  season  beginning  in  May,  a  number  of 
people  come  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  "take  the  water"  at  its 
sulphur  springs  and  visit  its  historic  shrines. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST 

PIONEER  MEMORIAL  STATE  PARK,  Lexington  and  War- 
wick Sts.,  is  a  tract  that  occupies  the  site  of  Old  Fort  Harrod  and 
its  immediate  environs.  Before  1923  only  a  neglected  graveyard 
marked  the  place  and  quarrying  operations  threatened  the  site.  One 
of  America's  historic  landmarks  was  going  to  ruin,  and  Kentucky  citi- 
zens undertook  to  restore  the  fort  and  beautify  the  grounds.  The  old 
Taylor  Mansion  was  acquired  for  a  museum;  Congress  provided  funds 
for  the  erection  of  the  Clark  Memorial;  the  Thomas  Lincoln  Marriage 
Cabin  was  set  up  in  a  building  especially  erected  to  house  it;  the  pali- 
sades and  fort  buildings  were  reconstructed  as  nearly  as  possible  like 
the  originals.  On  November  16,  1934,  President  Franklin  D.  Roose- 
velt and  Gov.  Ruby  Lafoon  joined  in  dedicating  the  park.  It  is  fenced 
by  a  brick  wall  on  Warwick  Street,  and  a  gateway  opens  on  a  wide 
road  running  through  a  bluegrass  lawn  to  a  parking  space  at  the  foot 
of  the  memorial,  the  fort  (directly  in  front),  and  the  cemetery. 


172  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

OLD  FORT  HARROD  (open  8-6  in  summer;  8:30-6  in  winter;  adm. 
adults  25$,  children  10$,  including  adm.  to  Mansion  Museum),  end  of 
drive  in  the  park,  is  a  reconstruction  of  the  original  fort  that  occupied 
this  site.  It  is  64  feet  shorter  than  the  264-feet-square  original.  Block- 
houses at  the  southeast  and  southwest  corners  are  connected  by  cabins 
with  roofs  sloping  inward.  The  remainder  of  the  enclosure  is  a  pali- 
sade of  upright  logs  12  feet  high.  The  outside  chimneys  are  of  clay- 
chinked  logs  set  on  stone  foundations.  In  former  times  each  cabin  had 
a  pole  to  push  over  the  chimney  in  case  it  caught  fire.  The  spring, 
still  flowing,  furnished  sufficient  water  for  the  inhabitants. 

Within  the  cabins  and  blockhouses  are  pioneer  relics — homemade 
wooden  utensils,  hand-made  furniture,  crude  agricultural  tools,  lanterns, 
dishes,  spinning  wheels,  copper  kettles,  pioneer  beds,  and  many  other 
items  preserved  by  descendants  of  early  settlers. 

Within  the  fort  is  a  reproduction  of  the  FIRST  SCHOOLHOUSE,  where 
Mrs.  William  Coomes  taught  reading  and  writing  to  the  children  of  the 
settlement. 

In  this  fort  Ann  McGirty  operated  the  first  spinning  wheel  in  the 
West;  John  Lythe  preached  the  Gospel;  Squire  Boone,  brother  of 
Daniel,  walked  about  with  a  Bible  in  his  hand;  the  first  white  child  in 
Kentucky  was  born;  and  George  Rogers  Clark  prepared  to  march  into 
the  Old  Northwest. 

LINCOLN  MARRIAGE  TEMPLE,  R.  at  Warwick  St.  entrance,  is  a  red 
brick  building,  cruciform  in  plan,  its  12  angles  representing  the  12 
Apostles.  In  the  central  tower  is  the  bell,  rung  twice  each  year — on 
the  marriage  anniversary  of  Thomas  and  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln,  and 
on  the  anniversary  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  death.  The  floor  plan  of  the 
temple  was  suggested  by  an  old  Baptist  church  in  the  neighborhood 
where  the  pulpit  was  in  the  center  of  the  church.  The  LINCOLN  MAR- 
RIAGE CABIN  stands  where  the  pulpit  would  be  ordinarily.  It  was  re- 
moved from  its  original  site  in  the  Beech  Fork  Settlement,  where 
Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  were  married  June  12,  1806.  The 
cabin  resembles  the  one  in  which  Lincoln  was  born  (see  Tour  6). 

PIONEER  CEMETERY,  N.  side  of  the  park,  oldest  in  the  West,  is  the 
burial  place  of  more  than  500  early  settlers  and  soldiers.  Few  names 
appear  on  the  gravestones.  A  coffin-shaped  stone,  near  the  middle  of 
the  cemetery,  marks  the  grave  of  the  first  white  child  who  died  in  the 
settlement. 

GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  MEMORIAL,  SE.  of  entrance  to  the  fort,  is 
a  heroic  granite  bas-relief,  the  money  for  which  was  appropriated  by 
Congress.  The  central  section  shows  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  stand- 
ing beside  his  horse.  To  the  right  is  a  young  pioneer  and  an  old  one; 
to  the  left,  a  frontier  soldier  bids  wife  and  child  good-by.  The  memo- 
rial was  designed  and  executed  by  Ulric  Ellerhusen,  sculptor,  and 
Francis  Keally,  architect.  In  a  granite  stone,  lying  flat  before  the 
sculptured  figures,  is  chiseled  an  illustrated  map  of  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory. 


HARRODSBURG  173 

The  MANSION  MUSEUM  (open  8-6  in  summer;  8:30-6  in  winter), 
Warwick  and  Poplar  Sts.,  built  by  Maj.  James  Taylor  in  1830,  is  a 
post-Colonial  two-story  brick  house  built  close  to  the  sidewalk.  It  was 
acquired  by  the  Harrodsburg  Pioneer  Memorial  Park  Association  in 
1925. 

Portraits  are  hung  around  the  front  hallway.  The  Lincoln  Room 
contains  Lincolniana.  The  Confederate  Room  has  battlefield  relics  and 
paintings  and  prints  of  many  Southern  leaders.  The  George  Rogers 
Clark  Room  preserves  prints  and  papers  about  Clark  and  his  conquest. 
There  is  a  collection  of  firearms  in  a  room  on  the  second  floor.  Next 
to  it  in  the  music  room  are  many  old  instruments,  some  of  them  rare. 
In  another  room  are  old  costumes,  Indian  relics,  and  historic  books. 

The  DOCTOR  SHOP,  Warwick  St.  S.  of  the  main  entrance,  was  dedi- 
cated in  June  1924  by  the  Kentucky  State  Medical  Association  in 
memory  of  pioneer  physicians.  This  small  one-story  brick  building 
contains  a  museum  of  early  medical  books,  surgical  instruments,  and 
pictures  pertaining  to  the  medical  profession. 

GRAHAM  SPRINGS  (open),  in  the  extreme  SW.  section  of  the  city 
(roadway  marked),  is  a  mineral  spring  in  a  grove  once  occupied  by  a 
famous  resort.  The  SPRING  SHELTER  is  near  the  site  of  the  old  resort 
building  burned  during  the  War  between  the  States.  Wealthy  Ken- 
tuckians  and  planters  from  the  Deep  South,  accompanied  by  their 
slaves,  menservants  and  maids,  came  here  in  great  numbers  during  the 
years  before  the  war. 

At  the  FAIRGROUNDS  (adm.  to  fair  50$),  adjoining  Graham 
Springs,  the  Mercer  County  Fair  Association  holds  its  annual  exhibits 
and  meetings.  The  fair  has  agricultural  and  industrial  displays  com- 
mon to  rural  fairs,  but  emphasizes  its  horse  shows,  and  has  stables  for 
300  show  horses.  The  annual  Fox  Hound  Show  is  held  on  the  second 
day  of  the  fair. 

MORGAN  ROW  (private),  Chiles  St.  opposite  Courthouse  Square, 
is  a  compact  series  of  four  two-story  brick  buildings  set  flush  with  the 
street,  constructed  between  1807  and  1836.  They  are  separated  by  fire 
walls  that  extend  some  distance  above  the  roof  level.  Seven  doors  in 
the  houses  open  on  limestone  steps  leading  down  to  the  original  brick 
sidewalk.  At  the  north  end  of  the  row  is  a  post-Colonial  structure 
built  by  John  Chiles,  an  innkeeper  and  stagecoach  operator  of  the 
1830's.  The  buildings  were  operated  by  Chiles  as  an  inn  and  as  a 
rendezvous  for  gamblers.  One  of  the  doors  still  has  the  peephole  used 
by  the  suspicious  doorman. 

DIAMOND  POINT  (private),  Price  Ave.  and  College  St.,  is  a  two- 
story  Greek  Revival  brick  home  built  in  1840.  The  deep  Doric  portico, 
with  two  central  columns  and  corner  pilasters,  protects  the  long  French 
windows  and  the  richly  carved  doorway.  Across  the  fagade  extends  an 
iron  balcony  with  diamond-shaped  tracery,  one  of  the  first  of  its  kind 
in  the  State. 

BURFORD  HILL  (private),  W.  of  cemetery  at  N.  city  line,  is  a 
one-and-a-half-story  late  Georgian  Colonial  house  built  in  1820.  The 


174  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

original  west  wing  was  destroyed  by  lightning.  The  bricks,  burned 
locally,  are  laid  in  Flemish  bond.  The  arched,  fanlighted  doorway  is 
protected  by  a  small  Doric  portico  topped  with  a  steep  pediment.  The 
gable  roof  is  broken  by  small  dormers. 

AVALON  INN,  Main,  Maxwell,  and  Chiles  Sts.,  was  originally  the 
home  of  a  Presbyterian  academy  for  girls.  In  the  Main  Street  fagade 
four  massive  Doric  columns  rise  two  stories  to  support  an  entablature 
and  cornice  which  carry  out  the  Greek  Revival  design  even  to  the 
dentils,  triglyphs,  and  simple  metopes.  The  doorway,  with  rectangular 
side  lights  and  transom,  is  severely  plain. 

CLAY  HILL  (private),  Beaumont  Ave.,  late  Georgian  Colonial  in 
style,  was  built  in  1812  by  Beriah  Magoffin,  father  of  the  Kentucky 
Governor  (1859-62)  of  the  same  name.  This  two-story  brick  structure 
with  one-story  wings  is  noted  for  its  handsome  carved  mantels  and  the 
loggia  in  the  rear. 

BEAUMONT  INN  (open),  Danville  St.  near  the  city  line,  is  a  Greek 
Revival  brick  building  erected  by  John  Augustus  Williams  in  1845,  and 
was  for  some  years  the  home  of  Daughters'  College.  Six  tapering  Ionic 
columns  of  the  impressive  entrance  portico  support  a  plain  entablature. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST  IN  ENVIRONS 

McAfee  Station,  8  m.  (see  Tour  5).  Old  Mud  Meeting  House,  3  m.;  Shaker- 
town,  8  m.;  Herrington  Lake,  11  m.;  Perryville  Battlefield,  12.4  m.;  High  Bridge, 
16.4  m.  (see  Tour  15). 


LOUISVILLE 


Railroad  Stations:  Union  Station,  Broadway  and  10th  St.,  for  Louisville  &  Nash- 
ville R.R.,  Pennsylvania  R.R.,  and  Chicago,  Indianapolis  &  Louisville  R.R.  (Monon 
Route).  Central  Station,  N.  7th  St.  and  Ohio  River,  for  Baltimore  &  Ohio  R.R., 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  R.R.,  New  York  Central  R.R.,  Illinois  Central  R.R.,  and 
Southern  Ry. 

City  Ticket  Offices:  Starks  Bldg.  Arcade,  4th  and  Walnut  Sts.,  for  all  railroads. 
Bus  Stations:  Union  Bus  Depot,  Sth  and  Broadway,  for  Greyhound,  Blue  and 
White,  Chaudoin  (Carrollton  division),  Meadors  &  Allen  Lines;  403  S.  3rd  St.  for 
Blue  Motor  Coach  Lines;  240  W.  Jefferson  St.  for  Chaudoin  Bus  Lines,  all  divi- 
sions; 502  S.  3rd  St.,  Interstate  Bridge  Transit  Co.  (inter-city)  for  Jeffersonville, 
Ind. 

Airport:  Bowman  Field  (Municipal),  Taylorsville  Rd.  E.  of  Bon  Air  Ave.,  5  m. 
from  business  section,  for  American  and  Eastern  Air  Lines.  (Ticket  ofhce,  Ken- 
tucky Hotel.) 

Taxis:  Separate  systems  for  white  and  Negro  patrons,  15^  for  the  first  %  m.,  $$ 
for  each  additional  %  m.;  maximum  capacity  for  a  single  cab  4  passengers. 
Streetcars  and  Buses:  Fare  10^  or  three  tokens  for  25^;  transfers  interchangeable. 
Toll  Bridges:  Kentucky  and  Indiana  Terminal  R.R.  Bridge  (Louisville  to  New 
Albany,  Ind.),  31st  St.  and  Western  Parkway  (US  31  W  and  US  ISO,  Ind.  63,  and 
Ind.  64),  toll  25^  for  vehicles  and  all  passengers;  5^  for  each  pedestrian;  Municipal 
Bridge  (Louisville  to  Jeffersonville,  Ind.),  2nd  and  Main  Sts.  (US  31  E  and  US 
150,  Ind.  60  and  Ind.  62),  toll  25^  for  vehicle  and  all  passengers,  5^  for  each  pedes- 
trian. 

Traffic  Regulations:  Strictly  enforced.  Right  turns  against  a  red  light  may  be 
made  from  curb  lane  after  a  full  stop  anywhere  outside  the  area  between  S.  1st  and 
S.  6th  Sts.,  from  Broadway  to  the  river.  Left  turns  in  the  downtown  area  only 
at  intersections  indicated  by  large  signs  painted  on  the  street.  U-turns  prohibited 
at  intersections  and  boulevards,  on  through  streets,  and  in  central  traffic  district. 
Hand  signals  required.  Pedestrians  observe  traffic  lights. 

Street  Order  and  Numbering:  Main  St.  divides  the  city's  N.  and  S.  street  number- 
ing, and  1st  St.  the  E.  and  W.  numbering. 

Accommodations:  Forty-one  hotels  (three  for  Negroes) ;  many  boarding  houses  and 
tourist  homes.  During  week  of  Kentucky  Derby  rates  are  much  higher. 

Information  Service:  Louisville  Board  of  Trade,  Lincoln  Bank  Bldg.,  421  W.  Mar- 
ket St.,  Louisville  Automobile  Club  (AAA),  800  S.  3rd  St. 

Radio  Stations:  WHAS  (820  kc.) ;  WAVE  (940  kc.) ;  WGRC  (1370  kc.). 
Theaters  and  Motion  Picture  Houses:  Five  first-run  motion  picture  houses  down- 
town, 25  second-run  and  community  houses  (two  for  Negroes).  Road  attractions 
and  local  musical  and  dramatic  productions  occasionally  at  Memorial  Auditorium, 
S.  4th  and  Kentucky  Sts.;  Columbia  Hall  Auditorium,  820  S.  4th  St.;  Playhouse, 
Belknap  Campus,  S.  3rd  and  Shipp  Sts.;  Jefferson  County  Armory,  Liberty  St. 
between  Armory  Place  and  S.  6th  St.;  and  the  Woman's  Club  Auditorium,  1320 
S.  4th  St. 

Baseball:  Parkway  Field,  Eastern  Parkway  and  Brook  St.,  for  Louisville  and 
American  Assn.  teams. 
Swimming:  Public  outdoor  pools:  Reservoir  Park,  Frankfort  Ave.  and  Grinstead 
Dr.,  25^;  Shelby  Park,  Oak  St.  between  Hancock  and  Shelby  Sts.,  25^;  Shepard 
Park  (for  Negroes),  16th  and  Magazine  Sts.,  25^.  Indoor  public  pools: 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Broadway  and  S.  3rd  St.,  25tf;  Y.  W.  C.  A  (medical  examination 

175 


176  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

required  before  entering  pool),  Broadway  and  S.  2nd  St.,  25^;  Henry  Clay  Hotel, 

S.  3rd  and  Chestnut  Sts.,  25tf. 

Golf:  Public  courses  in  Shawnee  Park,  W.  end  of  River  Park  Dr.,  18  holes,  greens 

fee  50^;  Crescent  Hill  Golf  Course,  Brownsboro  Rd.  and  Lueile  Ave.,  9  holes,  35^; 

Seneca  Park,  Taylorsville  Rd.,  E.  of  Bon  Air  Ave.,  18  holes,  50tf. 

Tennis:  All  major  public  parks,  free.    Reservations  required. 

Steamer  Excursions:  Up  Ohio  River  at  least  once  daily  during  summer. 

Annual  Events:  Kentucky  Derby  1st  or  2nd  Sat.  in  May.  Kentucky  State  Fair, 
2nd  or  3rd  week  of  Sept. 

LOUISVILLE  (Loo-i-vil,  463  alt.,  307,745  pop.),  noted  for  its  fine 
whisky,  beautiful  women,  and  the  Kentucky  Derby,  lies  across  the  Ohio 
River  from  New  Albany  and  Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  on  a  low,  level 
plain  that  curves  for  eight  miles  along  the  river.  Midway  in  the  adjoin- 
ing river  are  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  which  determined  the  location  of  the 
original  settlement  and  provided  it  with  a  name  (Falls  of  the  Ohio) 
until,  as  a  gesture  of  gratitude  for  the  aid  given  by  Louis  XVI  and  the 
French  Nation  to  the  American  Revolution,  the  name  was  changed  to 
Louisville.  It  is  the  largest  and  most  important  city,  commercially  and 
industrially,  in  the  State. 

The  main  portion  of  Louisville  is  built  on  a  flood  plain,  about  60  feet 
above  the  Ohio  River,  surrounded  by  the  river  on  the  north  and  west 
and  by  low  hills  on  the  south  and  east.  The  residential  area  spreads 
into  the  Highlands.  Northeast  of  the  city  the  Ohio  stretches  in  a  bent 
swath  nearly  a  mile  wide  and  six  miles  long,  forming  one  of  the  finest 
harbors  in  the  whole  course  of  the  river.  Passenger  steamers,  ferries, 
and  tugs  fill  the  harbor.  An  excursion  boat,  which  periodically  plies 
the  tree-banked  stream,  plays  its  steam  calliope.  Across  the  river  the 
low  skylines  of  New  Albany  and  Jeffersonville  bespeak  a  more  rural 
existence  than  that  of  their  metropolitan  neighbor. 

The  business  section  extends  east  and  west  from  Fourth  Street,  which 
runs  from  the  Ohio  River  southward  into  the  Highlands.  Like  a  giant 
chessboard,  the  taller  buildings  along  this  street  stand  like  castles, 
knights,  and  bishops,  while  the  lower  business  buildings  and  dwellings 
in  the  downtown  area  are  pawns  in  the  background. 

In  general,  the  city  has  the  form  of  a  letter  T  with  the  top  approxi- 
mately three  miles  wide,  extending  from  the  Highlands  about  nine 
miles  westward  along  the  south  shore  of  the  Ohio  River.  A  southward 
projection  of  this  urban  area,  forming  the  stem  of  the  T,  extends  about 
seven  and  one-half  miles  from  the  river  into  the  Highlands.  Near  the 
river  front  are  tobacco  warehouses,  mills,  livestock  yards,  distilleries, 
and  the  wholesale  district  that  make  Louisville  one  of  the  South's  great 
distributing  centers. 

In  the  downtown  area  old  homes  suggest  the  social  prestige  of  their 
owners,  and  indicate  that  the  city  was  important  even  at  an  early  date. 
On  the  highways  leading  into  the  city  are  mansions  of  plantation  days, 
reminders  that  this  early  prosperity  depended  largely  upon  agriculture. 

Between  Jefferson  Street  and  the  Ohio  River  are  a  number  of  brick 


LOUISVILLE  177 

homes  in  the  Greek  Revival  style  sandwiched  between  business  prop- 
erties. Conspicuous  among  them  are  the  three-or-four-room  brick  cot- 
tages with  pretentious  classic  fagades.  Substantial  homes  of  French 
and  Italian  Renaissance  and  Georgian  design,  built  after  1835,  are  set 
far  back  from  the  street  on  spacious  grounds  south  of  Walnut  Street 
between  Floyd  and  Sixth  Streets.  With  southward  expansion  of  the 
city,  continued  until  the  middle  1870's,  came  the  houses  of  gingerbread 
Victorian  styles,  many  of  which  are  still  standing. 

Louisville's  parks  ring  the  city  in  a  loose  half-circle.  Shawnee  Park, 
on  the  west,  is  formally  arranged  on  flat  land  near  the  Ohio  River. 
Iroquois  and  Cherokee  Parks,  thickly  planted  with  trees,  climb  the  hills 
that  skirt  the  city  on  the  south  and  east.  Thirty-two  miles  of  boule- 
vard wind  through  the  parks. 

Louisville  is  a  border  metropolis  that  blends  the  commerce  and  in- 
dustry of  a  Northern  city  with  a  Southern  city's  enjoyment  of  living. 
The  result  is  an  attractive  compromise.  Louisville  is  too  busy  making 
and  selling  things  to  have  the  languor  of  a  town  in  the  Deep  South; 
but  it  does  have  its  special  graces.  Its  people  are  friendly  and  hos- 
pitable. The  phalanx  of  clothing  shops  on  Fourth  Street  north  of 
Broadway  contributes  to  the  reputation  of  Louisville  women  for  being 
well-dressed.  Bourbon  and  water  or  a  cocktail  after  work  is  popular; 
amusement  and  relaxation  are  nearly  as  important  as  work.  Downtown 
theaters,  restaurants,  and  hotel  lobbies  are  invariably  crowded;  and  it 
is  still  a  favorite  custom  to  drive  or  walk  "in  Fourth  Street"  of  an 
evening. 

Horse  racing  is  by  all  odds  Louisville's  most  exciting  sport.  The 
Racing  Form  is  sold  on  the  downtown  streets  like  a  newspaper.  At 
nearby  Churchill  Downs  29  days  of  each  year  are  given  over  to  races. 
The  spring  and  fall  meets  provide  something  to  see,  and  add  an  extra 
fillip  to  conversation.  During  Derby  Week  in  May,  Louisville  is  the 
most  feverish  city  in  the  Nation.  Highways  entering  the  city  carry  a 
steadily  increasing  number  of  automobiles  and  buses  into  the  down- 
town area,  hotels  are  "all  out,"  and  the  streets  teem  with  thousands  of 
happy,  hysterical  townsmen  and  visitors.  "A  Kentucky  girl,"  Irvin  S. 
Cobb  has  said,  "does  not  consider  that  she  has  been  properly  launched 
into  society  until  she  has  seen  a  Derby  run  off."  Seventy  thousand 
people  pack  the  stands,  bleachers,  and  infield  at  Churchill  Downs  to 
see,  in  slightly  more  than  two  minutes,  the  start  and  finish  of  America's 
most  celebrated  horse  race. 

When  the  Kentucky  State  Fair  is  held  in  early  September,  Louisville 
again  plays  host  to  Kentuckians  and  out-of-Staters.  The  horse  show 
and  the  livestock  exhibit  are  outstanding  attractions. 

Many  early  planters  who  later  became  associated  with  the  life  of  the 
city  were  large  slaveowners,  and  the  residents  of  Louisville  kept  house 
servants  who,  after  the  manner  of  the  time,  assumed  the  family  name. 
This  transplanted  Negro  stock  is  the  foundation  of  the  city's  present 
Negro  life  and  culture.  Despite  his  background  of  decades  of  slavery, 
the  Negro  in  Louisville  has  adapted  himself  remarkably  to  the  envi- 


178  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

ronment  of  freedom.  Illiteracy  among  Negroes  has  dropped  from  about 
96  percent  in  1865  to  a  percentage  level  only  slightly  above  that  of  the 
whites.  Illiterates,  white  and  Negro,  reported  by  the  U.S.  Census  of 
1930  reached  a  low  of  2.2  percent.  The  first  free  public  library  for 
Negroes  with  Negro  attendants  was  opened  at  Louisville  in  1905  as  a 
branch  of  the  city  Free  Public  Library.  Louisville  is  the  only  city  in 
the  State  that  has  two  Carnegie  branch  buildings  for  Negro  readers. 
Local  Negroes  have  a  complete  system  of  primary  and  secondary 
schools  in  addition  to  the  Louisville  Municipal  College — part  of  the 
University  of  Louisville — which,  in  October  1937,  had  an  enrollment  of 
224  students  working  toward  the  A.B.  degree.  Opened  in  1931,  it  is 
the  only  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  Nation. 

Negro  neighborhoods  have  their  own  stores,  hotels,  restaurants,  news- 
paper publishing  houses,  and  theaters.  The  1930  census  figures  record 
45.6  percent  of  all  Negro  families  as  homeowners.  This  slightly  exceeds 
the  white  ownership  percentage,  but  because  of  the  low  economic  status 
of  the  Negro  the  individual  value  of  these  homes  is  still  sub-standard. 
The  voting  power  of  the  city's  47,354  Negroes  is  a  factor  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  race  in  Louisville. 

The  Ohio  River — commonplace  enough  today — played  a  vital  part 
in  the  development  of  Louisville  and  the  surrounding  country.  The 
French  were  the  first  to  explore  the  river  they  called  "La  Belle  Riviere" 
(the  beautiful  river).  During  the  next  hundred  years  a  long  line  of 
adventurers,  explorers,  traders,  and  surveyors  saw  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio,  stopped  here  for  a  time,  and  passed  on. 

In  1773,  after  England  had  won  the  Ohio  Valley  from  France,  the 
first  permanent  settlement  was  attempted  at  the  falls.  In  the  summer 
of  that  year  Capt.  Thomas  Bullitt,  commissioned  by  Lord  Dunmore, 
Governor  of  Virginia,  to  locate  land  warrants  granted  to  Virginia  sol- 
diers of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  camped  on  the  Ohio  River  shore 
near  the  present  interstate  bridge.  He  surveyed  2,000  acres  of  land, 
for  which  Dr.  John  Connolly,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  who  had  served 
in  the  war,  received  a  patent  from  the  British  Crown.  Col.  John 
Campbell  became  joint  owner  of  the  land  with  Dr.  Connolly,  and  they 
issued  proposals  for  the  sale  of  lots.  Before  they  could  establish  set- 
tlers here,  Connolly  was  charged  with  being  a  Tory  and  his  land  was 
confiscated  by  Virginia. 

In  May  1778  young  George  Rogers  Clark,  with  150  volunteer  sol- 
diers and  about  20  families,  left  the  Redstone  settlement  (now  Browns- 
ville, Pennsylvania)  on  the  Monongahela  and  came  down  the  Ohio. 
His  purpose  was  to  establish  a  military  base  along  the  lower  Ohio  be- 
fore starting  his  campaign  for  the  conquest  of  the  Old  Northwest,  then 
held  by  the  British.  When  the  party  reached  the  falls  they  landed  on 
an  island,  long  since  swept  away  by  floods,  where  they  built  blockhouses 
and  planted  corn;  Clark  and  his  raw  recruits  then  pushed  on  into  the 
wilderness  to  capture  the  British  posts  at  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  and 
Vincennes.  In  the  fall,  Clark  sent  some  of  his  men  back  to  the  settle- 
ment to  establish  a  fort  on  the  mainland.  This  fort,  built  during  the 


LOUISVILLE  179 

winter  1778-79,  near  the  present  junction  of  Twelfth  Street  with  the 
river  opposite  Corn  Island,  became  the  nucleus  of  the  settlement  and 
headquarters  of  General  Clark  until  Fort  Nelson  was  completed  in 
1782.  The  falls,  which  interrupted  navigation  except  in  periods  of 
high  water,  determined  the  site  of  the  settlement.  Downstream  boats 
had  to  be  piloted,  and  upstream  boats  towed  by  men  familiar  with  the 
dangerous  rapids. 

That  winter  was  a  hard  one,  with  food  and  wild  game  scarce;  but 
great  preparations  were  made  for  the  first  Christmas  party.  The  men 
brought  in  venison.  The  women  made  "hoecakes,  hominy,  and  other 
frontier  fancies."  Old  Cato,  a  Negro  fiddler,  was  distressed  because 
he  had  only  one  string  for  his  fiddle.  On  Christmas  Eve  a  canoe  landed, 
and  in  it  was  a  Frenchman  with  a  fiddle.  Old  Cato  traded  him  coon- 
skins  for  new  fiddle  strings,  and  gave  him  an  extra  skin  to  say  nothing 
about  the  trade,  because  he  wanted  to  surprise  his  white  folks.  To 
Cato's  chagrin  the  Frenchman  was  asked  to  play  for  the  dancing.  He 
tried  to  teach  some  of  the  dances  of  his  own  country,  but  they  were 
too  complicated.  He  gave  it  up  in  disgust,  and  yielded  the  honors  to 
Old  Cato  and  the  Virginia  Reel. 

News  of  Clark's  victories  in  the  Northwest  lured  many  settlers  to 
this  region.  Three  hundred  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1780,  and  in  May, 
Col.  George  Slaughter  and  150  soldiers  came  from  Virginia  to  protect 
the  fledgling  community.  In  the  same  month  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia passed  an  "Act  for  establishing  the  town  of  Louisville  at  the  Fall 
of  the  Ohio." 

The  appearance  of  the  little  town  was  not  inviting.  A  large  fort, 
and  a  number  of  log  cabins,  occupied  by  several  score  families  who  had 
cleared  and  cultivated  garden  plots,  stood  not  far  back  from  the  river 
front.  The  roar  of  the  falls  was  sometimes  broken  by  the  howl  of 
wolves  and  the  yell  of  savages.  Indians  sometimes  attacked  the  fort, 
and  usually  made  their  escape  across  the  river.  In  1781  such  an  attack 
occurred,  and  the  whites,  thinking  that  the  Indians  had  fled  across  the 
river,  started  in  canoes  to  pursue  them.  They  were  fired  upon  from  the 
Kentucky  side,  and  nine  were  killed.  The  Indians  often  fired  at  the 
flatboats  of  the  whites  as  they  plied  the  river. 

The  first  court  convened  here  on  March  7,  1781,  and  one  of  its 
first  official  acts  was  to  fix  the  charges  for  the  "necessities  of  life." 
These  included  whisky,  which  could  not  be  sold  for  more  than  $15  a 
half-pint,  and  shelled  corn,  not  to  sell  for  more  than  $10  a  gallon.  A 
man  might  object  if  a  hotel  keeper  charged  him  more  than  $18  a  day 
for  board  or  more  than  $6  a  night  for  a  feather  bed;  the  stabling  of 
his  horse  was  not  to  exceed  $4  a  night.  These  prices  were  computed 
in  terms  of  the  depreciated  Continental  currency. 

In  1781-82,  Fort  Nelson,  named  in  honor  of  Governor  Nelson  of 
Virginia,  was  erected  north  of  Main  Street  between  Seventh  and  Ninth 
Streets,  covering  an  acre  of  ground  along  the  Ohio  shore.  General  Clark 
had  his  headquarters  here  and  the  fort  served  as  courthouse  and  jail. 

With  the  westward  expansion  Louisville  assumed  the  character  of  a 


180  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

commercial  city.  At  the  opening  of  the  new  century,  it  had  600  people, 
and  soon  it  had  sanitary  laws  and  police  and  fire  protection. 

The  New  Madrid  earthquake  of  1811-12,  which  shook  the  greater 
part  of  the  continent,  and  formed  Reelfoot  Lake  (see  Tour  10),  rocked 
Louisville.  The  first  shock,  lasting  four  minutes,  was  felt  here  on  De- 
cember 16,  1811,  at  2  P.M.  It  was  accompanied  by  thunder  and  was 
followed  by  "complete  darkness  and  saturation  of  the  atmosphere  with 
sulphuric  vapor."  Eighty-seven  shocks  occurred  during  the  following 
week  and  temblors  continued  through  part  of  ,1812.  One  very  fright- 
ened and  penitent  person  rushed  in  on  a  group  of  card  players,  exclaim- 
ing, "Gentlemen,  how  can  you  be  engaged  in  this  way  when  the  world 
is  so  near  its  end?"  The  party  rushed  into  the  street,  where,  from  the 
rocking  of  the  earth,  the  stars  seemed  to  be  falling.  A  member  of  the 
group  was  constrained  to  remark,  "What  a  pity  that  so  beautiful  a 
world  should  be  thus  destroyed."  Public  morals  improved  noticeably 
during  this  period. 

The  steamboat  New  Orleans,  first  successful  steamer  on  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers,  stopped  at  Louisville  on  its  way  to  Natchez  in  Oc- 
tober 1811.  Latrobe  describes  the  occasion  in  his  Rambler  in  America: 

Late  at  night  on  the  fourth  day  after  quitting  Pittsburgh,  they  arrived  in  safety 
at  Louisville,  having  been  but  70  hours  in  descending  upwards  of  700  miles  .  .  . 
and  it  is  related  that  on  the  unexpected  arrival  of  the  boat  before  Louisville,  in 
the  course  of  a  fine,  still,  moonlight  night,  the  extraordinary  sound  which  filled  the 
air,  as  the  pent-up  steam  was  suffered  to  escape  from  the  valves  on  rounding  to, 
produced  a  general  alarm,  and  multitudes  rose  from  their  beds  to  ascertain  the 
cause.  I  have  heard  that  the  general  impression  among  the  Kentuckians  was  that 
a  comet  had  fallen  into  the  Ohio. 

This  trip  inaugurated  the  steamboat  era,  which  vitally  affected  Louis- 
ville. In  1815  the  Enterprise  steamed  upriver  from  New  Orleans  to 
Louisville  in  12  days,  less  than  half  the  time  it  took  broadhorns  and 
keel-boats  to  make  the  journey  downstream.  Talk  revived  about  build- 
ing a  canal  around  the  falls  in  front  of  Louisville. 

From  1820  to  1870  this  river  town's  prosperity  was  measured  by  its 
boat  traffic.  During  the  first  three  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century 
portaging  cargoes  around  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  was  Louisville's  chief 
concern.  Shipments  were  unloaded,  carted  overland  to  Towhead  Island 
above  the  falls,  and  put  on  boats  for  the  upriver  journey.  Except  in 
periods  of  high  water,  when  the  falls  were  navigable,  the  same  transfer 
of  goods  took  place  in  moving  cargoes  downstream. 

In  1825  a  private  company  was  organized  to  construct  the  long- 
deferred  canal  project,  and  in  December  1830,  the  Uncas  passed 
through  the  locks  of  the  completed  Portland  Canal,  which  ran  laterally 
across  Louisville's  river  front.  The  canal  opened  through  navigation  on 
the  Ohio  from  Pittsburgh  to  its  mouth.  The  movement  of  commerce 
picked  up.  Less  than  a  decade  after  it  was  completed,  1,500  steamers 
and  500  flatboats  and  keel-boats  entered  the  canal  annually,  bearing 
300,000  tons  of  produce  for  Southern  markets.  Today,  along  Fourth 
and  Fifth  Streets,  near  the  river,  are  many  landmarks  of  the  gilded 


LOUISVILLE  l8l 

days  when  river  trade  brought  Louisville  its  first  prosperity;  and  to  the 
foot  of  Fourth  Street  occasionally  comes  the  Gordon  Greene,  the  only 
packet  now  making  the  journey  upriver  to  Pittsburgh. 

Meanwhile,  in  1828,  Louisville  was  incorporated  and  received  its  first 
city  charter.  The  makeshift  village  government  was  superseded  by 
a  mayor  and  a  board  of  aldermen  elected  by  the  voters.  The  loss  of 
the  portage  business  following  the  opening  of  the  Portland  Canal 
brought  on  a  temporary  local  depression,  made  more  acute  by  the 
cholera  epidemic  of  1831. 

By  the  middle  1830's  Louisville  had  two  noted  hostelries — the 
Louisville  Hotel,  still  standing  at  Main  and  Sixth  Streets,  and  the 
Gait  House.  The  spacious  architectural  design  of  the  Louisville  Hotel, 
built  in  1832  of  native  limestone,  was  for  many  years  a  model  for 
hotel  building  throughout  the  South  and  Middle  West.  The  Gait 
House,  razed  in  1920,  for  75  years  had  a  reputation  for  fine  Southern 
cooking  and  service.  Charles  Dickens  was  a  visitor  in  1842:  "We 
slept  at  the  Gait  House,  a  splendid  hotel,  and  were  as  handsomely 
lodged  as  though  we  had  been  in  Paris,  rather  than  hundreds  of  miles 
beyond  the  Alleghenies." 

Caleb  Atwater,  in  Remarks  Made  on  a  Tour  to  Prairie  Du  Chien, 
written  in  1831,  said  of  Louisville: 

Main  St.,  for  the  distance  of  about  one  mile,  presents  a  proud  display  of  wealth 
and  grandeur.  Houses  of  two  and  three  lofty  stories  in  height,  standing  upon  solid 
stone  foundations,  exceed  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  Western  States.  The  stores 
filled  with  commodities  and  manufactures  of  every  clime  and  every  art,  dazzle  the 
eye  ...  the  ringing  of  the  bells  and  the  roaring  of  the  guns,  belonging  to  the 
numerous  steamboats  in  the  harbor,  the  cracking  of  the  coachman's  whip,  and  the 
sound  of  the  stage  driver's  horn  salute  the  ear.  The  motley  crowd  of  citizens,  all 
well  dressed,  hurrying  to  and  fro — the  numerous  strangers  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  almost,  visiting  the  place  to  sell  or  to  buy  goods— the  deeply  loaded  dray 
cart,  and  the  numerous  pleasure  carriages  rolling  to  and  fro,  arrest  and  rivet  the 
attention  of  a  mere  traveler  like  myself.  .  .  .  There  are  at  this  time  about  1,200 
dwelling  houses  in  the  town,  mostly  built  of  brick.  Many  are  equal  to  any  in  the 
Atlantic  cities.  .  .  .  There  are  probably  more  ease  and  affluence  in  this  place  than 
in  any  western  town — their  houses  are  splendid,  substantial,  and  richly  furnished. 

Louisville  in  its  early  years  drew  its  population  mostly  from  Vir- 
ginia, Maryland,  and  the  Carolinas.  Louisville  early  became  an  im- 
portant outstation  in  the  expanding  New  Orleans  commercial  empire. 
Men  of  wealth,  character,  and  influence  came  up  from  that  city,  entered 
the  Louisville  scene,  and  left  the  imprint  of  their  early  training  and 
social  environment. 

By  way  of  Pittsburgh  and  down  the  Ohio  came  another,  larger 
stream  of  men  seeking  their  fortunes  in  the  expanding  West.  Among 
them  were  New  Englanders  and  people  from  the  Middle  Atlantic  States. 
This  group  added  materially  to  the  business  caution  of  the  roaring 
river  town  and  much  to  its  diversity  of  opinion.  Their  active  participa- 
tion in  political  life  explains  the  fact  that  Louisville,  a  Southern  city, 
was  vocally  Northern  during  the  War  between  the  States. 


l82  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

During  these  first  few  decades,  Louisville  was  influenced  by  a  num- 
ber of  French  emigres.  Michel  Lacassagne,  the  first  postmaster,  re- 
produced a  French  garden  at  his  home  on  the  river  front;  Tarascon 
built  mills  and  utilized  the  water  of  the  falls;  Audubon  painted  birds 
and  taught  drawing;  the  young  Duke  of  Orleans,  afterwards  Louis 
Philippe,  King  of  France,  was  among  the  first  musicians  in  the  city; 
the  Barbaroux  brought  mercantile  and  manufacturing  skill;  the 
Berthouds  and  Honores,  like  Tardiveau,  were  pioneers  in  navigation 
and  commerce.  Some  traces  remain  of  their  architectural  contribu- 
tions. Tradition  remembers  their  graceful  living  and  dancing  feet. 

The  1840's  started  off  with  a  fire  that  burned  a  large  part  of  the 
business  district.  It  was  rebuilt,  and  the  town  continued  to  grow. 
In  this  decade  many  Germans  came  to  Louisville.  They  brought  little 
of  tangible  wealth  but  much  practical  education  and  industrial  skill. 
They  founded  stores  and  industries,  and  in  time  exercised  a  definite  in- 
fluence upon  the  social  and  commercial  life  of  the  community.  Some 
of  the  firms  they  established  are  still  doing  business  under  the  German 
names  of  the  founders. 

By  1850  Louisville  had  a  population  of  43,194.  A  new  charter, 
granted  March  24,  1851,  provided  for  election  of  all  city  officers. 

On  election  day,  August  6,  1855,  the  Know  Nothing  Party  pre- 
cipitated a  riot  in  Louisville.  A  mob  with  a  cannon  went  fighting  and 
burning  through  the  streets.  Several  lives  were  lost  and  a  number  of 
houses  were  burned.  The  day  is  known  as  "Bloody  Monday." 

The  1850's  were  years  of  general  prosperity,  and  Louisville  inaugu- 
rated street  railways  and  witnessed  the  completion  in  1851  of  the 
Louisville,  Frankfort  &  Lexington  Railroad.  The  Louisville  &  Nash- 
ville Railroad,  actively  promoted  by  Louisville,  was  completed  to 
Nashville  in  1859. 

Louis  Kossuth,  Hungarian  exile,  visited  Louisville.  A  member  of 
his  entourage  wrote:  "We  were  astonished  at  the  expanse  of  Louisville 
which,  we  were  told,  twenty-four  years  ago  was  but  an  insignificant 
town.  The  streets  are  broad,  the  houses  substantial,  with  neat  front 
and  back  gardens;  carriages  are  numerous;  Negro  footmen  wear  livery; 
everything  looks  more  aristocratical  than  economical." 

The  outbreak  of  the  War  between  the  States  brought  a  bitter  division 
of  opinion  in  Louisville.  The  predominant  Union  sentiment  within 
the  city  vied  with  the  pro-Confederate  temper  of  the  adjoining  rural 
section.  Many  residents  with  Southern  sympathies  were  compelled  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  Union  as  a  matter  of  self-preservation. 
Louisville  was  military  headquarters  and  supply  depot  for  the  Armies 
of  the  North  throughout  the  war. 

The  end  of  the  conflict  found  the  South's  traditional  plantation 
economy  bankrupt.  Louisville,  one  of  the  most  important  distributing 
centers  for  the  Southern  States,  had  to  adjust  to  changed  conditions. 
It  pressed  new  merchandising  methods  and  established  railroad  con- 
nections with  Memphis,  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  Atlanta,  and  other 
Southern  cities.  Louisville  merchants  sent  salesmen  in  two-horse  rigs 


LOUISVILLE  183 

to  all  parts  of  the  South  with  instructions  to  get  orders  at  any  cost. 
For  two  decades  Louisville  and  Cincinnati  waged  an  intense  struggle 
for  Southern  trade.  Eventually  it  was  divided  between  them. 

Louisville's  third  charter  was  approved  March  3,  1870.  Local  pop- 
ulation reached  100,753,  an  increase  of  41  percent  in  10  years.  The 
decade  from  1870  to  1880  was  marked  by  the  completion  of  a  railroad 
bridge  across  the  Ohio  and  the  erection  of  a  new  city  hall. 

In  the  spring  of  1890  a  devastating  wind  swept  through  the  western 
part  of  the  city,  causing  the  loss  of  106  lives  and  extensive  property 
damage.  In  1893  Louisville  again  approved  a  new  charter,  with 
changes  to  conform  to  the  State  constitution  adopted  the  previous  year. 
A  system  of  bureaus  was  created,  which  took  charge  of  business  details 
previously  administered  by  the  city  council. 

The  census  of  1900  showed  Louisville  with  a  population  of  204,731. 
Since  the  World  War  a  new  sewerage  system  has  been  installed  at  an 
outlay  of  $8,000,000;  the  municipally  owned  water  company  has  spent 
$5,000,000  in  expansion  and  improvements;  and  the  elimination  of 
grade  crossings  within  the  city  limits  (to  cost  $21,000,000)  has  been 
undertaken. 

Louisville  boomed  through  the  1920's.  The  downtown  skyscrapers 
that  give  Fourth  Street  and  Broadway  an  elevated  skyline  have  all 
been  built  since  1920.  In  1925  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  were  harnessed 
for  the  production  of  electricity.  The  depression  did  not  affect  it  as 
severely  as  many  other  American  cities  because  of  the  diverse  char- 
acter and  wide  distribution  of  its  industries.  Through  the  lean  years 
its  tobacco  trading  and  manufacturing  maintained  most  of  their  normal 
prosperity,  and  the  revocation  of  the  eighteenth  amendment  set  in 
motion  the  long-idle  distilling  business.  In  spite  of  these  material 
advantages,  unemployment  became  a  pressing  problem  in  an  industrial 
city,  and  municipal  officials,  co-operating  with  the  Federal  Government, 
began  construction  and  improvement  of  parks  and  parkways,  the 
building  of  model  homes  for  whites  and  Negroes,  the  extension  of 
street  paving,  and  the  construction  of  a  municipal  boat  harbor. 

The  city  was  carrying  increased  expenditure,  with  good  promise  of 
lessening  its  relief  load,  when  in  January- February  of  1937  the  Ohio 
swept  out  of  bounds  in  the  greatest  flood  ever  recorded  for  this  river. 
Boats  patrolled  Broadway  from  the  Highlands  to  Shawnee  Park.  Ex- 
cept for  a  small  downtown  district,  the  entire  lowland  area  was  in- 
undated. Transportation  of  all  kinds  came  to  a  standstill.  .  Basements 
were  flooded.  Heating  plants  shut  down.  The  city  was  placed  under 
emergency  control.  Thousands  were  evacuated  to  the  Highlands  and 
neighboring  cities.  For  a  month  and  more  the  ordinary  processes  of 
living  ceased  to  function,  but  by  rigid  enforcement  of  sanitary  regula- 
tions and  because  of  warm  weather,  an  epidemic  was  avoided.  By 
April  daily  life  over  the  major  part  of  the  city  had  returned  to  normal. 
Losses  within  the  city  amounted  to  more  than  $52,000,000,  and  neces- 
sitated costly  renovation  and  replacement  of  goods.  With  the  assist- 


184  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

ance  of  rehabilitation  loans  and  Red  Cross  aid  the  city  by  mid-summer 
of  1937  had  resumed  its  usual  way  of  life. 

Throughout  its  history,  Louisville  has  contributed  to  the  intellectual 
and  cultural  life  of  the  Nation.  Its  press  has  voiced  the  sentiments 
of  the  early  West,  the  Middle  West,  and  the  renewed  South.  The 
first  newspaper  was  the  Farmer's  Library,  which  appeared  in  1801  as 
a  four-page,  11-  by  19-inch  sheet  having  little  more  than  foreign  news 
and  advertisements.  The  Public  Advertiser  was  established  in  1818 
by  Shadrach  Penn;  it  began  as  a  weekly,  but  on  April  24,  1826,  it 
became  the  first  daily  published  in  the  West.  The  Louisville  Journal, 
edited  by  George  D.  Prentice,  began  in  1830.  In  1868  it  merged  with 
the  Louisville  Morning  Courier  and  American  Democrat,  started  in 
1844  but  suppressed  by  the  Federal  Government  in  1861.  Henry  Wat- 
terson  (1840-1921),  the  South 's  most  noted  editor  of  the  last  century, 
edited  the  newspaper  for  the  next  fifty  years,  and  made  the  Courier- 
Journal  influential  in  Southern  and  national  affairs  through  its  vigorous 
editorials  (see  Press  and  Radio). 

John  James  Audubon  (1785-1851),  the  naturalist,  lived  here  from 
1808  to  1812.  Mary  Anderson,  born  in  California  in  1859,  was  Louis- 
ville's contribution  to  the  stage,  and  Enid  Yandell  (1870-1934)  was 
the  city's  most  notable  sculptor.  Madison  Cawein  (1865-1914),  Cale 
Young  Rice  (b.  1872),  and  David  Morton  (b.  1886)  are  leading 
Louisville  poets.  Alice  Hegan  Rice  (b.  1870)  has  refreshed  readers 
everywhere  with  Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch  and  other  stories. 
(Mrs.)  George  Madden  Martin  (b.  1866),  dean  of  Louisville  writers, 
is  best  known  for  her  delightful  chronicles  of  Emmy  Lou.  Ellen 
Churchill  Semple  (1863-1932)  attained  international  prestige  with 
American  History  and  Its  Geographic  Condition  and  other  scientific 
works.  Josephine  McGill  added  to  Kentucky's  published  treasure  of 
ballad  material  with  her  Folk  Songs  of  the  Kentucky  Mountains 
(1917).  Louisville  was  also  the  birthplace  (1856)  of  Louis  Dembitz 
Brandeis,  a  member  of  the  U.S.  Supreme  Court  (1916-1939)  and  the 
author  of  several  important  books  (see  Literature). 

Since  the  War  between  the  States,  industrial  development  has  cen- 
tered about  the  manufacture  of  farm  implements,  tobacco  products, 
meat-packing  products,  leather  goods,  flour,  and  whisky.  Tobacco  is 
the  leading  cash  crop  in  the  neighboring  area.  Prior  to  about  1918 
the  burley  tobacco  sold  here  was  packed  in  great  hogsheads,  each 
containing  about  a  thousand  pounds.  These  containers  were  broken 
open  for  inspection,  and  a  handful  of  tobacco  determined  the  grade 
of  the  entire  hogshead.  From  this  custom  originated  the  name 
"Breaks"  for  tobacco  market  floors.  Louisville  is  still  the  leading 
"hogshead  market."  Principal  marketing  activities  run  from  about 
Thanksgiving  to  Easter.  Approximately  one-fifth  of  the  Nation's 
cigarettes  are  manufactured  here. 

Two-thirds  of  Kentucky's  wealth  from  manufactures  is  concentrated 
in  Louisville  and  Jefferson  County.  Livestock  receipts  and  the  meat- 


LOUISVILLE  185 

packing  industry  are  vital  factors  in  the  city's  business.  Since  repeal 
the  old  distilleries  on  Main  Street  have  awakened  to  new  life  and  made 
the  city  once  more  one  of  the  Nation's  ranking  distributing  centers  for 
liquor,  especially  Bourbon  whisky.  Plumber's  supplies,  sanitary  equip- 
ment, and  mill  and  factory  supplies  are  extensively  produced;  and 
Louisville  is  outstanding  in  the  manufacture  of  reed  organs,  baseball 
bats,  boxes,  mahogany  veneering,  nicotine  products,  hickory  handles, 
minnow  buckets,  wagons,  and  the  milling  of  soft  winter  wheat. 

Local  deposits  of  alluvial  sands  and  glacial  gravels,  with  clays  and 
some  sandstone,  have  provided  the  materials  for  many  of  Louisville's 
residences  and  business  buildings.  Underneath  this  downtown  area 
once  ran  the  channel  of  the  Ohio  River.  Long  since  silted  up  with 
sand  and  gravel,  this  channel  provides  an  unlimited  supply  of  cold 
sanitary  water  used  in  air-conditioning  hotels,  theaters,  factories,  and 
office  buildings,  and  to  some  extent  in  manufacturing  processes,  par- 
ticularly distilling. 

POINTS  OF  INTEREST 

1.  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CATHEDRAL  OF  THE  ASSUMPTION 

(open  daily),  435  S.  5th  St.,  was  consecrated  in  1852,  the  year  of  its 
completion.  Constructed  of  brick  trimmed  with  limestone,  in  Gothic 
Revival  style,  the  building  is  the  work  of  William  Kelly.  The  spire 
with  its  24-foot  cross  rises  to  a  height  of  287  feet.  Within  the  lofty 
tower  is  a  4,500-pound  bell,  given  to  the  cathedral  by  the  Right 
Reverend  Monsignor  LaBastida,  an  Archbishop  of  Mexico.  The  tower 
clock  was  made  in  Paris  by  Messieurs  Blin.  Among  the  treasures  of 
the  cathedral  is  an  old  painting  that  depicts  St.  Bernard  with  the 
Sacred  Host.  In  its  bold  conception,  brilliant  coloring,  and  general 
composition,  the  painting  recalls  the  work  of  Rubens  and  Van  Dyck. 

2.  The  GRAYSON  HOUSE   (private),  432   S.  6th  St.,  a  broad, 
nearly  square  structure  of  one-and-a-half  stories  with  outer  walls  17 
inches  thick,  is  the  oldest  brick  house  in  the  city.     It  was  built  not 
later  than  1810  by  John  Gwathmey,  a  Virginian,  on  an  Indian  burial 
mound.    The  brick,  laid  in  Flemish  bond,  was  brought  from  the  East 
and  shipped  down  the  Ohio  in  keel-boats.     The  house  has  17  rooms 
and  a  large  central  hall.     Slave  quarters  and  a  kitchen  formerly  oc- 
cupied the  basement  level.     The  earthquakes  of   1811-12   and  the 
tornado  of  1890  did  no  serious  damage  to  this  robust  house. 

3.  COLLEGE  SQUARE,  W.  Chestnut  St.  between  S.  8th  and  S. 
9th  Sts.,  was  set  aside  by  the  city  in  1837  as  the  site  for  a  college. 
The  Medical  Institute,  from  which  the  University  of  Louisville  ulti- 
mately developed,  opened  here  in  the  year   1839.     In   1838  Gideon 
Shryock,  Lexington  architect,  designed  and  built  the  Greek  Revival 
building  on  the  corner  of  Eighth  and  Chestnut  Streets.     With  the 
exception  of  the  inner  two,  the  Corinthian  columns  supporting  the 
severely  plain  pediment  are  square  in  design.     Shryock  also  designed 


l86  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

the  building  at  the  corner  of  Ninth  and  Chestnut  Streets.  A  third 
structure,  midway  between  the  others,  and  like  them  in  plan,  has  been 
added  in  recent  years.  In  1852  a  fire  gutted  the  original  building  at 
the  corner  of  Eighth  and  Chestnut  Streets,  and  subsequent  alterations 
of  the  reconstructed  building  left  little  of  the  interior  plan.  However, 
the  fagade  and  exterior,  which  emerged  whole  from  the  flames,  are 
designed  in  the  best  Shryock  manner.  The  property  is  occupied  by 
the  Central  Colored  High  School,  which  emphasizes  training  in  the 
manual  arts. 

4.  FORT  NELSON  MONUMENT,  NW.  corner  N.  7th  and  W. 
Main  Sts.,  is  an  irregular  slab  of  Georgia  granite  bearing  a  bronze 
tablet;  it  commemorates  a  fort,  built  in  1782,  which  extended  from 
this  point  west  approximately  two  blocks  along  what  is  now  Main 
Street,  and  north  to  the  river  shore.    Fort  Nelson  was  a  Revolutionary 
fort  built  by  George  Rogers  Clark  as  a  military  base  and  as  a  refuge 
for  Louisville's  first  settlers.    The  monument,  presented  to  the  city  by 
the  Colonial  Dames  of  America,  was  dedicated  in  1912. 

5.  JEFFERSON  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  W.  Jefferson  St.,  be- 
tween S.  Sth  and  S.  6th  Sts.,  designed  in  the  Greek  Revival  style  with 
an  impressive  Doric  portico,  is  a  characteristic  work  of  Gideon  Shryock, 
designer  of  the  Old  Capitol  at  Frankfort  and  of  the  Bank  of  Louisville 
building.    The  limestone  structure  was  begun  in  1838-39,  but  was  not 
completed  and  occupied  until  1850.     In  the  center  of  the  rotunda  is 
a  life-size  white  marble  STATUE  OF  HENRY  CLAY  by  Joel  T.  Hart,  un- 
veiled in  1867.    It  is  a  replica  of  the  original  at  Richmond,  Virginia. 
In  front  of  the  courthouse  is  a  THOMAS  JEFFERSON  STATUE  by  Moses 
Ezekiel,  the  gift  of  I.  W.  and  B.  Bernheim. 

6.  OLD  BANK  OF  LOUISVILLE  BUILDING  (open  9-5  week- 
days), 320  W.  Main  St.,  occupied  by  the  Louisville  Credit  Men's  As- 
sociation, is  popular  with  artists  who  come  to  sketch  the  stately  fagade. 
The  structure  was  designed  in  the  Greek  Revival  style  by  Gideon 
Shryock  and  erected  in  1837.    The  fagade  is  of  dressed  limestone  and 
incorporates  a  portico  with  a  pediment  supported  by  two  Ionic  columns 
and,  at  either  end,  a  tapered  pylon.    Within,  an  elliptical  dome  and 
skylight,  supported  by  four  classic  columns,  forms  the  major  part  of 
the  building. 

The  WHARF  AND  WATERFRONT,  N.  end  of  N.  3rd  St.,  are 
closely  associated  with  the  history  of  Louisville.  Visible  (L)  along  the 
water's  edge  is  the  upstream  end  of  the  LOUISVILLE  AND  PORTLAND 
CANAL,  rebuilt  in  1927  to  provide  a  nine-foot  navigation  stage.  The 
original  canal,  dug  by  slave  labor  in  1830  at  a  cost  of  $740,000,  opened 
a  new  era  in  inland  navigation.  The  canal  was  twice  rebuilt  before 
the  present  locks  and  dam  were  completed.  U.S.  GOVERNMENT  DAM 
41  floods  the  rapids  and  eases  a  drop  of  37  feet  in  the  river  level. 
The  dam,  largest  on  the  Ohio  River,  is  constructed  of  reinforced  con- 
crete and  was  completed  in  1928.  Backwater  from  the  dam  floods 
Corn  Island,  site  of  the  original  settlement  of  Louisville.  In  the  im- 


{lift  J, 


l88  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

mediate  foreground,  at  the  water's  edge,  is  the  only  inland  U.S.  COAST 
GUARD  STATION,  established  in  1881  to  protect  life  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio.  Up  to  1937  more  than  9,000  persons  had  been  rescued  from 
drowning.  Directly  across  the  river  is  the  Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  plant 
of  the  Colgate  Company,  bearing  a  great  illuminated  clock  that  tells 
time  for  people  in  Louisville.  To  the  right  is  Towhead  Island,  so 
named  because,  prior  to  the  building  of  the  canal,  it  provided  the  up- 
harbor  on  the  river  between  it  and  Shippingport  harbor  below  the 
falls.  Goods  were  transferred  overland  and  boats  were  towed,  except 
when  periods  of  high  water  permitted  navigation  of  the  river  channel. 
Four  bridges  span  the  Ohio  River  at  Louisville;  one  of  them,  gen- 
erally known  as  the  K.  &  I.  (Kentucky  and  Indiana)  bridge,  is  just 
over  the  falls  and  connects  New  Albany,  Indiana,  with  Louisville,  near 
North  Thirty-second  Street.  It  is  a  combined  highway,  trolley,  and 
railroad  bridge.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  bridge,  built  in  1870,  is 
exclusively  for  railroad  purposes.  The  Big  Four  Railroad  bridge  was 
rebuilt  in  1928  to  accommodate  railroad  and  trolley  traffic  to  Jefferson- 
ville, Indiana.  The  MUNICIPAL  BRIDGE,  a  giant  steel  structure  5,750 
feet  long,  built  in  1930  for  highway  traffic,  runs  from  North  Second 
Street  to  Jeffersonville.  At  the  Kentucky  end  of  the  bridge  tall  stone 
pylons  are  surmounted  by  large  wrought-iron  lamps.  In  front  of  each 
of  these  fluted  pylons  is  a  lower  pylon  bearing  in  bas-relief  the  seal 
of  Kentucky  surmounted  by  an  eagle.  They  were  designed  by  Paul 
Cret  of  Philadelphia,  who  planned  the  Folger  Shakespeare  Library  in 
Washington,  D.C.  A  marker,  erected  in  1935  by  the  Colonial  Dames 
of  America  on  the  Kentucky  approach  to  the  bridge,  records  La  Salle's 
alleged  discovery  of  the  Ohio  River  in  1669. 

7.  BANK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  BUILDING,  231  W.  Main 
St.,  was  built  by  the  Government  in  1832  to  house  the  Louisville  branch 
of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.    It  is  a  brick  structure  two  stories 
high,  chiefly  Greek  Revival  in  design,  now  used  as  an  office  building. 

8.  The  SITE  OF  CROWE'S  LIVERY  STABLE,  224  S.  3rd  St., 
is  occupied  by  a  deserted  brick  building.    About  1825  Thomas  Crowe, 
a  retired  stagecoach  driver,  operated  a  livery  on  this  plot,  near  which 
was  the  stage  entrance  to  the  old  City  Theater  on  Jefferson  Street. 
Crowe  had  several  slaves  who  were  stable  hands,  among  them  one 
called  Jim  Crow.     Jim  was  a  jovial,  elderly  Negro,  much  deformed, 
with  a  high  right  shoulder  and  a  stiff  left  leg  as  bowed  as  a  new  moon, 
which  gave  him  an  odd  limp.     One  day  in  the  spring  of  1828  when 
the  Drake  Stock  Company  was  playing  at  the  City  Theater,  Thomas  D. 
Rice,  a  member  of  the  company,  was  standing  at  the  theater  entrance 
watching  the  old  Negro  and  listening  to  him  singing  at  work.    At  the 
end  of  each  verse  Jim  gave  a  queer  little  jump,  and  when  he  came 
down,  he  set  his  "heel  a  rockin'." 

The  words  of  the  refrain  were: 

Wheel  about,  turn  about, 
Do  jes  so ; 


LOUISVILLE  189 

An'  every  time  I  wheel  about 
I  jump  Jim  Crow. 

Rice  was  cast  as  a  Kentucky  cornfield  slave  in  The  Rifle,  then  playing 
at  the  theater.  Drake  reluctantly  consented  to  let  Rice  insert  the  Jim 
Crow  song.  Rice  made  himself  up  like  Jim  Crow,  sang  his  song,  and 
did  his  queer  little  dance.  The  audience  went  wild.  It  is  said  that 
he  was  recalled  20  times  the  first  night.  The  play  ran  for  many  nights 
to  crowded  houses.  After  that  Thomas  Rice  was  nicknamed  "Jim 
Crow"  Rice,  and  even  as  late  as  the  forties  he  was  still  playing  Jim 
Crow  and  other  Negro  impersonations.  Jim  Crow  terminology,  with 
its  many  variations  dealing  with  the  Negro,  has  developed  from  this 
character. 

9.  The  COURIER- JOURNAL  BUILDING,  SW.  corner  S.  3rd  and 
W.  Liberty  Sts.,  is  a  plain  four-story  dressed  limestone  structure  built 
in  1858  by  the  U.S.  Government  as  a  post  office  and  Federal  building. 
It  later  became  the  home  of  the  Courier- Journal,  established  in  1868 
by  a  merger  of  the  Daily  Journal  with  the  Courier,  and  Henry  Watter- 
son  was  made  editor-in-chief  (see  Press  and  Radio).    In  August  1918 
R.  W.  Bingham  purchased  the  Courier- Journal  and  Times  from  the 
heirs  of  W.  N.  Haldeman.    As  editor  emeritus,  Henry  Watterson  con- 
tinued to  direct  its  policy  until  his  death  in  1921. 

Robert  Worth  Bingham  (1871-1937)  was  born  in  Orange  County, 
N.C.,  and  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1888. 
In  his  early  twenties  he  became  a  resident  of  Louisville,  where  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  received  his  degree  in  law  from  the  University 
of  Louisville  in  1897.  In  Kentucky,  Judge  Bingham  was  best  known 
as  a  publisher,  though  he  served  as  mayor,  chancellor  of  Jefferson 
Circuit  Court,  and  county  attorney  before  acquiring  the  two  news- 
papers associated  with  his  name.  He  was  appointed  U.S.  Ambassador 
to  Great  Britain  in  1933. 

10.  SEELBACH  HOTEL,  SW.  corner  S.  4th  and  W.  Walnut  Sts., 
has  murals  in  the  main  lobby  depicting  the  pioneer  life  and  history  of 
Kentucky  and  the  Northwest  Territory.    This  work  was  completed  in 
1904  by  Arthur  Thomas.    The  central  panel  shows  Colonel  Henderson 
calling  to  order  the  first  legislature  of  Kentucky.     Adjoining  panels 
portray  scenes  in  the  life  of  Daniel  Boone  and  Gen.  George  Rogers 
Clark  in  the  march  on  Vincennes.    Smaller  panels  of  a  pioneer  distiller, 
a  tobacco  field  slave,  a  pioneer  farmer,  and  an  Indian  chief  complete 
the  series. 

11.  CHRIST  CHURCH  CATHEDRAL   (Episcopal),  419  S.  2nd 
St.,  oldest  church  in  the  city,  was  built  in  1822  after  plans  by  Graham 
and  Ferguson.    It  was  originally  a  two-story  building,  almost  square, 
with  two  tiers  of  windows.    In  1872  the  front  wall  was  removed  and 
the  building  extended  west  to  Second  Street.    Two  towers,  one  topped 
with  a  spire  and  cross,  were  included  in  the  later  Gothic  Revival 
fagade.     Although  the  diocese  of  Kentucky  was  established  in  1829, 
Christ  Church  was  not  consecrated  until  1894. 


CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

12.  The  BENJAMIN  SMITH  HOME  (open  10-5  daily),  114  E. 
Jefferson   St.,  now  headquarters  of  the  Union   Gospel   Mission,  was 
built  in  1827  by  a  retired  Southern  planter.    It  is  a  three-story  house 
of  Classical  Revival  design.    Its  massive  walls  are  6f  brick  with  rusti- 
cated limestone  trim.     The  facade  is  also  of  limestone  and  the  four 
fluted  monolithic  columns  of  the  portico  were  carved  by  hand.     The 
rear  and  side  walls  are  plastered  and  marked  off  to  simulate  stone. 
The  original  hand-wrought  ironwork  and  light  standards  at  the  en- 
trance are  still  in  use.    The  rooms  are  finished  in  solid  mahogany  wood- 
work, Italian  marble  mantels,  and  finely  etched  glass.    An  oval  spiral 
stairway  winds  from  the  first  floor  to  the  third. 

13.  The  HAYMARKET  (open  day  and  night  throughout  the  year), 
E.  Jefferson  St.  between  S.  Brook  and  S.  Floyd  Sts.,  in  the  1880's  was 
an  abandoned  railroad  yard  where  farmers  congregated  to  sell  their 
hay  and  other  produce.    In  order  to  protect  the  market  place  against 
intrusion  by  city  buildings,  the  farmers  formed  a  stock  company  in 
1891,  which  today  owns  and  administers  the  property.     Stalls  are 
rented  to  actual  producers  who,  under  the  charter,  pay  no  license  to 
the  city.     No  discrimination  is  made  between  near  and  distant  pro- 
ducers so  long  as  they  can  certify  that  the  produce  offered  for  sale  is 
of  their  own  raising.    The  market  sells  vegetables,  fruits,  honey,  and 
other  home-grown  products. 

14.  The  MEDICAL  SCHOOL  (open  9-5  weekdays),  101  W.  Chest- 
nut St.,  is  a  three-story  stone  structure  of  Renaissance  design,  erected 
in  1893  for  the  Louisville  Medical  College.     In  1909  it  became  the 
home  of  the  original  unit  of  the  University  of  Louisville.    Behind  the 
older  building  is  a  modern  four-story  brick  addition,  built  in  1935. 

15.  SCOTTISH  RITE  TEMPLE,  200  E.  Gray  St.,  neo-classic  in 
design,  is  a  huge  building  constructed  of  dressed  Bedford  stone.    The 
pediment  of  the  portico  is  supported  by  six  thick  Doric  columns.    The 
interior  contains  an  auditorium  seating  500  and  a  room  paneled  with 
cedar  of  Lebanon.    The  cedar,  pronounced  genuine  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  was  obtained  from  the  estate  of  a  French  officer,  who  had 
taken  it  from  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  Syrian  building. 

16.  PRESBYTERIAN   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY   (open  9-4 
weekdays),  109  E.  Broadway,  forms  an  open  quadrangle  fronting  on 
Broadway.    It  consists  of  several  contiguous  Tudor-Gothic  style  halls, 
the  general  mass  resembling  that  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  England. 
The  battlemented  walls  are  faced  with  machine-tooled  Bowling  Green 
limestone,  and  the  traceried  windows  are  designed  in  the  English  per- 
pendicular style.     The  seminary  owns  the  Palestinian  Archeological 
Collection  of  antiquarian  articles  from  Palestine.    In  1938  the  institu- 
tion had  an  enrollment  of  62  students. 

17.  FORD  MANSION,  SW.  corner  W.  Broadway  and  S.  2nd  Sts., 
now  occupied  by  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  was  built  in  1858  for  James  Ford, 
a  retired  Mississippi  planter.    The  building  was  designed  by  the  Louis- 
ville architect,  Henry  Whitestone,  in  a  modified  Italian  Renaissance 


LOUISVILLE  191 

style.  Additions  have  been  made,  but  the  beauty  of  the  original 
dressed  stone  fagade  is  unchanged.  Spaciousness  and  excellent  decora- 
tive detail,  carried  out  in  finely  carved  rare  wood,  marble,  and  plaster, 
characterize  the  interior. 

18.  LOUISVILLE  FREE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  (open  9-9  weekdays, 
2-6  Sun.),  W.  York  St.  between  S.  3rd  and  S.  4th  Sts.,  was  designed 
by  Tilscher  and  Tachau  and  opened  to  the  public  in  1908.    The  two- 
story  building,  French  Renaissance  in  style,  is  T-shaped  in  plan  and 
has  a  full  basement.    A  wing  to  the  right  of  the  entrance  is  used  as  a 
reference  room  and  that  to  the  left  for  open  bookshelves  and  general 
reading.     Directly  opposite  the  entrance  is  the  circulation  room  dec- 
orated in  the  Louis  XVI  style.     Its  walls  are  finished  in  ivory  and 
embellished  with  murals  symbolizing  the  advance  of  civilization.    Two 
stairways  lead  from  this  room  to  the  balcony  above,  at  one  end  of 
which  is  the  original  of  Canova's  Hebe,  and  at  the  other,  Joel  T.  Hart's 
copy,  of  the  Venus  de  Medici.     On  the  balcony  is  a  room  housing 
Henry  Watterson's  private  library,  which  he  bequeathed  to  the  city. 
Adjoining  it  is  the  Civics  Room,  where  files  of  the  leading  Kentucky, 
national,  and  foreign  papers  are  on  racks  open  to  the  public.    In  the 
basement  is  the  MUNICIPAL  MUSEUM,  which  contains  collections  of 
minerals,  birds,  butterflies,  and  fossils.    On  the  grounds  facing  Fourth 
Street  stands  Barnard's  heroic  LINCOLN  STATUE,  and  immediately  in 
front  of  the  building  is  Bouly's  PRENTICE  STATUE. 

19.  The  FILSON  CLUB   (open  P-5  weekdays),  118  W.  Breckin- 
ridge  St.,  a  square,  three-story  red  brick  structure,  has  served  since 
1929  as  the  home  of  the  historical  society,  which  collects  Kentuckiana. 
The  eleventh  volume  of  its  magazine,  The  Filson  Club  History  Quar- 
terly, was  completed  in  1937.    The  Quarterly  publishes  current  find- 
ings of  society  members  and  staff  workers.    The  club  was  founded  in 
1884  and  named  for  John  Filson,  first  historian  (1784)  of  the  State 
of  Kentucky.     The  library  contains  a  large  collection  of  books  and 
manuscripts  pertaining  to  the  State. 

In  the  MUSEUM  on  the  second  floor,  which  exhibits  pioneer  relics, 
are  mementos  of  James  D.  (Jim)  Porter,  the  Kentucky  Giant,  includ- 
ing his  rifle,  7  feet  10  inches  long,  and  his  leather  boot,  14^  inches 
long.  Other  Porter  relics  are  preserved  by  descendants  living  in  Ship- 
pingport. 

Porter,  the  second  tallest  man  in  the  world  at  the  time  he  lived, 
was  born  in  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  in  1810.  A  year  later  his  parents 
moved  to  Shippingport  where  he  remained  the  rest  of  his  life.  His 
phenomenal  growth  began  at  about  the  age  of  1 7  and,  as  he  said,  while 
he  was  growing  his  mother  had  to  sew  an  extra  foot  of  cloth  on  his 
pantaloons  every  night.  It  was  a  favorite  pastime  of  local  people  to 
measure  Big  Jim.  An  inch  a  week  was  his  greatest  record,  and  at  the 
age  of  24  he  had  achieved  his  full  stature  of  7  feet  9  inches,  or  "6  feet 
21  inches"  as  he  expressed  it.  Apprenticed  to  a  cooperage,  he  outgrew 
his  task  of  making  barrels,  then  that  of  making  hogsheads,  and  for  a 
time  he  tried  hack  driving.  Annoyed  by  the  curious  public,  he  gave 


CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

that  up  to  go  into  business  as  keeper  of  the  Lone  Star  Tavern.  After 
two  years  as  a  tavern  proprietor,  Porter  built  an  18-room  house  with 
doors,  ceilings,  and  furniture  on  a  scale  to  accommodate  his  stature. 
Charles  Dickens,  who  visited  him  in  1842,  described  Porter  "among 
men  of  six  feet  high  and  upwards,  like  a  lighthouse  walking  among 
lamp-posts."  Big  Jim,  a  "powerful  drinker,"  was  joined  in  his  sprees 
by  little  Elisha  Reynolds,  5  feet  4  inches  tall,  his  partner  in  the  Tavern, 
which  they  ran  until  Porter's  death  in  1859.  He  was  buried  in  Cave 
Hill  Cemetery,  Louisville. 

20.  LOUISVILLE  MEMORIAL  AUDITORIUM  (open  by  permis- 
sion), NW.  corner  S.  4th  and  W.  Kentucky  Sts.,  is  a  massive  neo- 
classic  building  of  Bedford  stone  opened  in  1929  as  a  memorial  to 
Jefferson  County  soldiers,  sailors,  and  marines  who  died  in  the  World 
War.    Ten  fluted  Doric  columns  support  the  entablature  of  the  broad, 
shallow  front  portico;  behind  them  are  four  huge  entrance  doorways. 
Above  the  colonnade  is  a  high  attic,  adorned  with  classic  bas-reliefs 
and  surmounted  with  decorative  tripods  at  the  corners.     Beneath  the 
skylighted  dome  is  the  auditorium,   seating  3,151.     The  interior  is 
decorated  in  soft  shades  of  blue  and  gray.     Spanish  marble  surfaces 
the  lower  walls.    Lectures,  dramas,  and  occasional  operas  are  presented 
on  the  stage.     On  the  second  floor  is  the  Trophy  Room  where  flags 
of  the  Allied  and  Associated  Nations  are  displayed.    Another  memorial 
of  the  World  War,  set  within  a  bit  of  the  soil  of  France,  is  a  weathered 
wooden  cross  that  was  erecteS  above  an  American  killed  in  battle  and 
buried  as  a  Soldat  Fran^ais  Inconnue.    When  the  "unknown  soldier's" 
nationality  was  determined  by  some  trinket,  he  was  returned  to  his 
native  land,  and  with  him  came  this  graying  cross. 

21.  CENTRAL  PARK,  S.  4th  St.  and  Magnolia  Ave.,  a   17-acre 
tract,  contains  several  huge  specimens  of  tulip  poplar,  survivors  of  the 
virgin  forest.    The  natural  amphitheater  here  is  the  scene  of  occasional 
pageants  and  civic  gatherings.    West  of  Central  Park,  extending  along 
the  railroad  tracks  for  several  blocks,  is  the  locale  of  Alice  Hegan 
Rice's  Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch.     The  land  was  originally 
used  as  a  cabbage  field.    Then  a  sub-division  was  laid  out,  but  the  lots 
did  not  sell.    Squatters  came  in  and  built  shacks  of  materials  salvaged 
from  the  nearby  city  dump.     Comfortable  homes  now  fill  the  area. 

22.  KENTUCKY  STATE  FAIRGROUNDS  (open  throughout  the 
year),  1400  Cecil  Ave.,  were  acquired  in  1908,  when  the  State  Fair 
became  a  permanent  institution,  and  the  $100,000  livestock  pavilion 
was  built.    The  MERCHANTS  AND  MANUFACTURING  BUILDING,  erected 
in  1921,  is  devoted  to  industrial  and  commercial  exhibitions.     A  LOG 
HOUSE,  built  and  furnished  in  pioneer  style,  memorializes  the  pioneer 
home.    In  front  of  the  grandstand  is  a  half-mile  track  on  which  saddle 
racing  is  held  daily  during  the  State  Fair  in  September.    The  feature 
of  the  fair  is  the  Kentucky  Horse  Show,  where  native  and  foreign 
horses  vie  for  honors.    The  standards  of  excellence  include  the  breed- 
ing and  quality  of  the  horses  and  the  showmanship  of  the  trainers. 

23.  BOURBON  STOCKYARDS  (open  9-2),  SE.  corner  Main  and 


LOUISVILLE  193 

Johnson  Sts.,  received  its  name  because  it  is  on  the  SITE  OF  BOURBON 
HOUSE,  a  drover's  tavern  of  the  early  days  where,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, Louis  Philippe,  later  King  of  France,  stayed  for  a  time.  Spring 
lamb  marketing  is  one  of  the  stockyards'  most  important  activities. 

24.  AMERICAN  PRINTING  HOUSE  FOR  THE  BLIND  (open 
9-4:30  weekdays),  1839  Frankfort  Ave.,  one  of  the  largest  and  oldest 
establishments  of  its  kind,  prints  Braille  books  for  the  blind.    It  was 
established  in  1858,  and  was  supported  by  individual  subscription  and 
by  the  State  until  Congress  in  1879  made  an  annual  appropriation  of 
$10,000.    In  1919  this  grant  was  increased  to  $50,000.    This  publish- 
ing house,  occupying  a  three-story  brick  building,  supplies  books  for 
the  blind  in  the  United  States  and  abroad.    Its  catalogue  of  published 
works  lists  more  than  5,000  volumes,  including  standard  works  on  the 
arts,  sciences,  history,  travel,  fiction,  poetry,  and  general  information. 

25.  KENTUCKY  SCHOOL  FOR  THE  BLIND  (open  9-4:30  week- 
days), 1867  Frankfort  Ave.,  designed  in  1855  by  F.  Costigan,  is  Greek 
Revival  in  design.     All  outer  walls  are  of  stuccoed  brick  with  stone 
trim,  except  the  first  story  of  the  main  building  on  the  south  elevation, 
which  is  of  dressed  stone,  and  is  dominated  by  a  graceful  Ionic  portico. 
Its  three  domes  are  visible  from  many  points  in  the  city. 

TOUR  1 

The  tour — 26  m. — begins  at  Third  Street  and  Broadway  in  down- 
town Louisville,  covers  a  portion  of  the  boulevard  system  that  prac- 
tically encircles  the  city,  passes  through  the  older  residential  section, 
and  into  the  more  recently  developed  Highlands.  It  includes  three  of 
the  city's  finest  parks  and  Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  burial  place  of  many 
distinguished  former  residents  of  the  city. 

S.  from  Broadway  on  S.  3rd  St. 

26.  CONFEDERATE  MEMORIAL,  S.  3rd  and  Shipp  Sts.,  is  a 
large,    tapering,    Georgia    granite    shaft    erected    by    the    Kentucky 
Women's  Confederate  Monument  Association  in  honor  of  Confederate 
soldiers.     Cavalry  and  artillery  groups  are  on  two  sides  of  the  shaft. 
A  medallion  in  the  center  depicts  a  mounted  cavalryman.    At  the  top 
is  a  square  decorated  with  palm  leaves,  wreath,  and  crossed  swords,  on 
which  stands  a  sentinel-like  figure  facing  the  North.     His  knapsack, 
canteen,  and  long  rifle  are  characteristic  of  the  Confederate  infantry. 
This  memorial,  unveiled  in  1895,  was  designed  by  the  Louisville-born 
sculptress,  Enid  Yandell. 

27.  UNIVERSITY  OF  LOUISVILLE,  on  55-acre  Belknap  Campus, 
S.  3rd  and  Shipp  Sts.,  running  to  Eastern  Parkway,  is  the  oldest 
municipally  owned  university  in  America.     The  1937  enrollment  ex- 
ceeded 3,500  students.    The  university  started  in  1837  as  the  Louisville 
Medical  Institute.    In  1846  the  Institute  and  Louisville  College  were 
merged  as  the  University  of  Louisville,  and  a  law  school  was  added. 
For  half  a  century  law  and  medicine  were  the  only  courses  offered  by 
the  university.     In  1907  the  College  of  Liberal  Arts  was  established 


IQ4  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

through  a  private  fund.  Since  1910  appropriations  have  been  made  by 
the  city.  In  1911  five  medical  schools  amalgamated  as  the  Medical 
School  of  the  university.  The  School  of  Dentistry -was  added  in  1918. 
In  1922  co-operation  was  arranged  between  the  City  Hospital  and  the 
university,  and  in  the  same  year  summer  terms  were  initiated.  In  1925 
the  present  main  campus  was  purchased  and  the  Speed  Scientific 
School  established,  and  two  years  later  the  College  of  Music  was  or- 
ganized. 

On  the  left  of  the  entrance  is  SPEED  MEMORIAL  MUSEUM  (open  10-5 
Tues.-Sat.,  2-5  Sun.),  an  Indiana  limestone  structure  erected  in  memory 
of  James  B.  Speed,  prominent  Louisville  resident.  The  building  con- 
tains a  collection  of  pottery  and  porcelain  by  English,  German,  and 
Austrian  artisans.  Miniatures  by  English,  American,  French,  Swedish, 
Russian,  Austrian,  and  Persian  artists  of  the  past  three  centuries  are 
also  on  display,  among  them  Lord  Byron,  by  C.  Q.  A.  Bourgeois. 
Paintings  of  more  than  100  artists  include  The  Arrival  at  the  Inn,  by 
Vincent  Augustus  Tack,  and  portraits  by  Peale,  Sully,  Healy,  and 
Matthew  Harris  Jouett. 

Immediately  beyond  the  Museum  is  a  group  of  buildings  housing 
many  of  the  activities  of  the  university  proper.  The  Schools  of  Medi- 
cine and  Dentistry  and  the  Louisville  Municipal  College  for  Negroes 
are  in  downtown  Louisville. 

R.  from  S.  3rd  St.  on  Central  Ave.;  L.  on  S.  6th  St. 

28.  CHURCHILL  DOWNS  (open),  S.  7th  St.  and  Central  Ave., 
the  180-acre  park-like  tract  of  the  Kentucky  Jockey  Club,  provides 
one  of  the  fastest  tracks  in  the  world  for  the  19-day  spring  and  10-day 
fall  race  meets  and  the  Kentucky  Derby,  usually  run  the  first  or 
second  Saturday  in  May.  The  green-trimmed  white  clubhouse  and 
grandstands  and  the  landscaped  grounds  have  changed  little  in  ap- 
pearance since  the  course  was  opened  in  1875.  It  was  a  ll/2  mile 
track  until  1896,  when  it  was  shortened  to  1^4  miles.  Under  the 
main  grandstand  are  pari-mutuel  betting  machines,  pay-off  windows, 
offices,  and  the  cafe.  To  the  right  is  the  clubhouse,  and  to  the  left 
the  Negro  grandstand.  Directly  in  front  of  the  grandstand,  the  blue- 
grass  lawn  of  the  infield,  broken  by  beds  of  flowers,  shrubs,  and  low- 
growing  trees,  is  enclosed  by  the  white  guard-rail  of  the  mile  oval. 
Beyond  and  facing  the  oval  is  a  group  of  one-story  green  and  white 
horse  barns  against  a  background  of  forest  trees. 

The  Kentucky  Derby,  America's  supreme  racing  event,  open  to  the 
three-year-olds,  was  inaugurated  in  1875  and  has  continued  without  a 
break.  In  1912  Sotemia  established  a  world's  running  record  at 
Churchill  Downs  by  doing  4  miles  in  7:10%,  and  in  1931  Gallant 
Knight  clipped  another  world's  record  for  6^  furlongs  in  1:16%. 
Famous  winners  of  the  Derby  include  Bubbling  Over  (1926,  time 
2:03%)  and  War  Admiral  (1937,  time  2:03%).  The  largest  Derby 
purse  was  $55,375,  won  by  Reigh  Count  in  1928.  Lawrin  was  the 


LOUISVILLE  195 

first  "winter  horse"  to  win  the  Derby,  being  first  over  the  line  in 
1938. 

Retrace  S.  6th;  R.  on  S.  3rd,  which  at  Kenton  St.  becomes  Southern 
Parkway. 

29.  IROQUOIS  PARK,  Southern  Parkway  and  Taylor  Blvd.,  con- 
tains 676  acres  of  heavily  wooded  land  acquired  by  the  city  in  1890 
as  the  nucleus  of  the  present  park  system.    A  roadway  and  footpaths 
wind  from  the  base  of  Burnt  Knob,  center  of  the  park,  to  its  summit, 
from  which  the  countryside  can  be  seen  for  miles.    Point  Lookout  has 
an  elevation  of  720  feet  and  looks  down  on  Louisville,  the  Ohio  River, 
and  the  Indiana  hills  to  the  north. 

Retrace  Southern  Parkway;  R.  on  Eastern  Parkway  to  Cherokee  Rd. 

30.  CHEROKEE  PARK,  Eastern  Parkway  at  Cherokee  Rd.,  is  a 
rolling  tract  of  409  acres  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  city.     The 
Middle  Fork  of  Beargrass  Creek,  winding  through  the  area,  is  fed  by 
springs  from  limestone  cliffs  above.'   The  BIRD  OBSERVATORY  houses  a 
large  collection  of  mounted  native  Kentucky  birds.    In  a  wild  spot  is 
Enid  YandelFs  DANIEL  BOONE  STATUE,  placed  so  that  Boone,  clad 
in  his  traditional  hunting  garb,  seems  to  be  stepping  out  of  a  thicket. 
The  statue  was  presented  to  the  city  by  C.  C.  Bickel. 

Follow  Cherokee  Park  Trail  beside  headwaters  of  Middle  Fork  of 
Beargrass  Creek,  past  Big  Rock  to  entrance  of  Seneca  Park,  just  be- 
yond the  city  limits. 

31.  SENECA  PARK  is  a  continuation  of  the  city's  park  system. 
The  trail  climbs  from  the  valley  of  Middle  Fork  and  passes  through  a 
region  of  rolling  green  hills. 

L.  from  Cherokee  Trail  on  Beal's  Branch  Rd.;  R.  on  Garden  Dr.; 
L.  on  Lexington  Rd. 

32.  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  (open 
9-4:30  weekdays),  2825  Lexington  Rd.,  a  group  of  Georgian  Colonial 
buildings  of  red  faced  brick  with  dressed  Bowling  Green  stone  trim, 
is  situated  in  a  55-acre  grove  of  huge  beech  trees.     NORTON  HALL, 
three  stories  high,  contains  administration  offices,  museum,  and  library. 

The  MUSEUM  (open  by  appointment)  has  exhibits  of  the  Depart- 
ments of  History,  Religion,  and  Missions.  An  eleventh  century  Greek 
parchment  of  the  Four  Gospels  and  a  reprint  of  the  1587  "Breeches 
Bible"  are  among  the  rare  items.  The  seminary  was  first  opened  in 
Greenville,  S.C.,  in  1859.  It  closed  during  the  War  between  the  States, 
re-opened  in  1865,  and  in  1877  was  moved  to  Louisville,  where  it  oper- 
ated in  its  own  buildings  on  Fifth  Street  and  Broadway  until  1926, 
when  it  was  moved  to  the  present  location.  The  1937-38  attendance 
was  more  than  400. 


196  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

L.  from  Lexington  Rd.  on  Grinstead  Dr.;  R.  opposite  head  of  Ray 
Ave.,  through  rear  entrance  to  Cave  Hill  Cemetery. 

33.  CAVE  HILL  CEMETERY,  main  entrance  at  Baxter  Ave.  and 
E.  Broadway,  is  a  291 -acre  burying  ground  containing  the  graves  of 
famous  men  and  women,  among  them  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  and 
George  Keats,  brother  of  the  English  poet.  Six  miles  of  driveway, 
planted  with  trees,  shrubbery,  and  flowers,  wind  through  park-like 
grounds  that  overlook  downtown  Louisville.  Near  the  main  entrance 
stands  a  lofty  campanile,  its  clock  tower  surmounted  by  a  life-size 
white  marble  copy  of  Thorwaldsen's  Angel.  Lower,  in  a  niche,  is  a 
copy  of  the  same  sculptor's  Christ. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST  IN  ENVIRONS 

Fort  Knox,  32  m.  (see  Tour  7).     Monument  and  Tomb  of  Zachary  Taylor, 
72  m.  (see  Tour  12).    My  Old  Kentucky  Home,  39.6  m.  (see  Tour  15). 


LEXINGTON 


Railroad  Stations:  Union  Station,  Viaduct  and  E.  Main  St.,  for  Louisville  &  Nash- 
ville R.R.,  and  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry.;  S.  Broadway  and  Angliana  Ave.  for  South- 
ern Ry. 

Bus  Station:  Union  Station,  244  E.  Main  St.  for  Greyhound,  Fleenor,  Nunnelly, 
Phillips  and  Cooper  Lines. 

Airport:  Municipal,  6  m.  N.  on  Newtown  Pike;  chartered  planes,  no  scheduled 
service. 
Buses:  Fare  5^. 

Accommodations:  Five  hotels. 

Information  Service:  Lafayette  Hotel,  E.  Main  St.  at  Union  Station  Viaduct; 
Phoenix  Hotel,  Main  and  Limestone  Sts. ;  Board  of  Commerce,  Main  and  Upper 
Sts. ;  Bluegrass  Auto  Club,  Esplanade. 

Radio  Station:  WLAP  (1420  kc.). 

Theaters  and  Motion  Picture  Houses:  Little  Theater,  Transylvania  College  and 
Guignol  Theater,  University  of  Kentucky,  monthly  civic  talent  plays;  six  motion 
picture  houses. 

Swimming:  Municipal  Pool,  Castlewood  City  Park,  25tf;  Clay's  Ferry,  15  m.  on 
US  25;  Valley  View,  15  m.  S.  on  Tates  Creek  Rd.;  Boonesboro,  25  m.  S.  via  US 
25;  Joyland  Park,  3  m.  N.  on  US  27;  Johnson's  Mill,  12  m.  N.  on  Newtown  Rd. 
Golf:  Picadome,  S.  Broadway  extended,  18  holes,  greens  fee  50tf  Mon.-Fri.,  75# 
Sat.  and  Sun. 

Tennis:  Woodland  Park,  Woodland  and  High  Sts.,  free;  Duncan  Park,  Limestone 
and  5th  Sts.,  free;  University  of  Kentucky,  Rose  St.,  lOtf  per  hour;  Castlewood 
Park,  Bryan  Station  Rd.  and  Castlewood  Drive,  free. 

Riding:  123rd  Kentucky  Cavalry  Club,  Henry  Clay  Blvd.,  75^  per  hour.  Lexing- 
ton Riding  School,  Tates  Creek  Pike,  75tf. 

Racing:  Keeneland,  5  m.  W.  on  US  60,  running  races  (mutuel  betting),  April  and 
October. 

Trots:  Kentucky  Trotting  Horse  Breeders'  Association,  S.  Broadway  extended, 
June  and  September. 

Polo:  Iroquois  Hunt  and  Polo  Grounds,  6  m.  E.  on  US  60,  June  through  Septem- 
ber. 

Annual  Events:  Blessing  of  Hounds,  beginning  of  hunt  season,  November  Iroquois 
Hunt  Club;  May  Day  Festivals,  University  of  Kentucky  and  Transylvania  Col- 
lege; Junior  League  Horse  Show  (Saddle  Horses),  latter  part  of  July;  Tobacco 
Carnival;  Farm  and  Home  Convention,  University  of  Kentucky,  November. 


For  further  information  regarding  this  city,  see  LEXINGTON 
AND  THE  BLUEGRASS  COUNTRY,  another  of  the  American 
Guide  Series,  published  April  1938  by  the  city  of  Lexington,  Ky. 


LEXINGTON  (957  alt.,  45,736  pop.),  third  largest  city  in  Kentucky, 
lies  on  a  rolling  plateau  in  the  heart  of  the  Bluegrass  Country.  The 
golden  stallion  weathervane  on  the  Fayette  County  Courthouse  sym- 
bolizes an  aristocracy  of  horses.  An  early  law  passed  in  this  county 

197 


IQ8  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

just  after  the  Revolution  was  designed  to  keep  the  blood  of  race  horses 
pure.  The  law  was  superfluous.  The  city  has  few  industries  except 
those  that  have  to  do  with  tobacco  and  horses;  and  it  preserves  and 
advances  education  and  culture. 

Lexington  draws  shoppers  and  sightseers  from  the  farms  and  small 
cities  of  the  Bluegrass,  and  from  the  more  distant  hills.  It  is  unusually 
busy  on  Saturday  nights  when  farmers  and  horse  breeders  and  Negro 
farm  hands  come  to  town.  In  early  fall  about  4,000  students  of  the 
University  of  Kentucky  and  of  Transylvania  College  pour  into  the 
city. 

In  December,  January,  and  February,  the  tobacco  auctions  are  held. 
By  wagon,  bus,  and  truck,  a-horse  and  in  limousine,  on  shanks'  mare 
and  thoroughbred,  come  tobacco  growers,  buyers,  auctioneers,  ware- 
housemen and  officials  of  billion-dollar  cigarette  companies,  all  bound 
for  the  26  huge  tobacco  warehouses.  Often  $40,000,000  is  exchanged 
over  the  baskets  of  sorted  tobacco  leaves  in  this  important  loose- 
leaf  light  burley  tobacco  mart.  During  this  season  Lexington's  Main 
Street  (the  Dixie  Highway  through  the  city)  is  a  particularly  active 
shopping  thoroughfare.  Stores  in  old  and  new  buildings  are  concen- 
trated on  Main  Street  between  Broadway  and  Rose,  and  on  intersect- 
ing side  streets.  There  are  few  modern  buildings — most  of  them  date 
from  the  War  between  the  States,  and  they  bear  their  age  with  dignity. 

Just  north  of  Main  Street  are  the  churches,  the  public  buildings,  the 
old  Georgian  Colonial  houses  with  gleaming  white  doorways,  highly 
polished  door  knockers,  and  ivy-clad  walls.  Just  south  of  Main  Street 
are  the  railroad  tracks  flanked  by  livestock,  wool,  bluegrass  seed,  and 
grain  warehouses  and  markets,  and  a  rooming  house,  pawnshop,  and 
saloon  district. 

The  University  of  Kentucky  is  only  a  few  blocks  farther  south  on 
Limestone  Street,  and  the  university  boys  and  girls  overflow  into  Main 
Street,  where  comfortable  and  well-dressed  Bluegrass  folk  stroll,  rub- 
bing elbows  with  hill  people  in  less  fancy  clothes,  city  business  men, 
tobacco  men,  horse  breeders  and  horse  buyers. 

Scattered  through  all  the  better  sections  of  town  are  some  of  the 
big  old  homes,  set  back  among  trees  and  shrubs  and  well-kept  lawns. 
Local  industry  has  never  driven  the  old  families  out  of  their  early 
homes. 

The  Negroes  make  up  more  than  a  third  of  the  population,  and  live 
in  their  own  sections  in  the  northeast  and  the  southwest.  Partly  be- 
cause they  are  integrated  in  Lexington  life,  their  place  is  fixed  and 
fairly  secure;  they  are  cooks,  horse  trainers,  farm  hands,  servants, 
and  local  laborers.  They  have  their  churches  and  burying  societies, 
their  choirs  and  their  parties,  and  they  have  made  substantial  progress 
in  education  and  home  ownership. 

The  city  was  named  after  the  Battle  of  Lexington  by  Robert  Patter- 
son, Simon  Kenton,  and  others  who  in  June  1775  were  camped  nearly 
opposite  the  present  Lexington  Cemetery  while  on  their  way  to  build 
a  fort  near  the  Kentucky  River.  Four  years  later  the  town  was 


LEXINGTON 

founded  when  a  blockhouse  was  put  up  at  Main  and  Mill  Streets  and 
in  1782  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  granted  it  a  charter. 

In  1784  Gen.  James  A.  Wilkinson,  friend  of  Washington,  entered 
his  checkered  western  career  by  opening  a  store  in  the  village.  The 
next  year  the  first  tavern  hung  out  its  hospitable  sign  on  West  Main 
Street:  "Entertainment  for  man  and  beast,  by  James  Bray."  In  1787 
Transylvania  Seminary  was  removed  here  from  Danville.  The  first 
issue  of  John  Bradford's  Kentucky  Gazette  appeared  in  the  same  year. 

Merchants  brought  wares  from  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  accept- 
ing in  payment  ginseng,  homespun  linens,  and  cured  meats.  Hemp,  a 
fine  cash  crop,  and  lumber,  tobacco,  and  whisky  were  exported.  Money 
was  scarce,  barter  common.  Change  was  made  by  cutting  coins  into 
halves,  quarters,  and  eighths. 

Raw  materials  were  made  into  shoes,  hats,  woolen  goods,  ducking, 
white  lead,  and  other  commodities.  Most  important  of  all  was  the 
making  of  hemp  rope  for  ships'  rigging.  Lexington  was  the  chief  in- 
dustrial city  of  Kentucky  until  about  1820  when  the  paddlewheeler 
began  industrializing  the  Ohio  Valley  and  attracting  inland  industrial 
plants  to  the  river  bank. 

One  early  industry  that  the  Ohio  River  had  nothing  to  do  with  was 
the  breeding  of  light  horses — thoroughbreds,  trotters,  and  saddle  horses. 
"They  may  race  'the  ponies'  at  Louisville,  Santa  Anita,  Paris,  France, 
or  Timbuctoo,"  says  the  staunch  booster  of  Lexington,  "but  they  breed 
them,  and  they  rear  them,  and  they  train  them  at  Lexington."  It  was 
a  horse  named  Lexington,  foaled  in  1850  at  The  Meadows,  an  estate 
nearby,  that  founded  the  family  of  Fair  Play,  Man  o'  War,  and  War 
Admiral,  and  men  say  there  are  others  here  as  good. 

The  men  from  Virginia  and  Maryland  who  settled  the  city  rode 
their  best  horses  over  the  mountains,  or  floated  them  on  flatboats  down 
the  Kentucky  River.  The  first  impromptu  Lexington  races  were  held 
in  1787,  and  the  first  jockey  club  was  organized  10  years  later.  In 
the  early  years  of  the  next  century  breeding  stallions  were  imported 
from  England  and  Arabia.  From  these  came  the  modern  race  horse 
(see  Kentucky  Horses). 

By  1800  schools  of  medicine  and  law  had  been  added  to  Transyl- 
vania, making  the  town  one  of  the  most  important  academic  centers 
in  the  West.  Notables  came  to  the  town  and  college:  Henry  Clay 
led  a  group  of  men  who  for  fifty  years  spread  the  fame  of  the  college 
and  Lexington  across  the  Nation. 

In  1830  Lexington  started  to  build  the  Lexington  and  Ohio  Railroad, 
which  was  finished  in  1832  to  a  point  six  miles  west  of  the  town.  That 
year  the  town  became  a  city. 

Despite  a  cholera  epidemic  that  swept  the  Bluegrass  in  1833,  killing 
500  in  the  city  alone,  the  young  metropolis  at  the  end  of  the  decade 
was  riding  high  on  increased  farming  and  light  horse  and  livestock 
breeding.  The  richest  money  crop  of  those  days  was  hemp,  which 
went  into  the  rigging  of  Yankee  clippers.  The  soil  was  also  fine  for 
tobacco,  which  became  much  more  important  to  the  city. 


200  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

The  nation-wide  panic  of  1837  stifled  Lexington  business.  Then, 
as  the  city  was  getting  back  on  its  feet,  North  and  South  came  to 
blows.  Although  it  gave  a  cavalry  general,  John  Hunt  Morgan,  to 
the  South,  and  Jefferson  Davis  went  to  school  here,  Lexington  also 
spilled  its  blood  for  the  Union. 

The  War  between  the  States,  however,  established  the  cigarette 
market.  Before  the  war,  men  were  content  to  chew  tobacco  or  smoke 
an  occasional  cigar;  but  soldiers  began  "rolling  their  own"  with  bits 
of  tobacco,  and  unconsciously  started  one  of  America's  biggest  in- 
dustries. When  the  war  was  over  they  carried  a  craving  for  cigarettes 
to  all  corners  of  an  expanding  Nation.  It  was  a  good  thing  for  Lexing- 
ton, because  steam  was  driving  the  clipper  from  the  seas,  and  Lexing- 
ton's hemp  lay  unsold. 

Lexington  after  the  war,  however,  concentrated  primarily  on  horses. 
In  the  1870's,  when  the  bookmakers  appeared  and  betting  became  an 
industry,  racing  again  revived — and  with  it  Lexington's  favorite  work 
of  breeding,  rearing,  and  training  thoroughbreds.  The  great  horse 
farms  began  to  revive;  wealthy  easterners,  attracted  to  the  Bluegrass, 
started  to  buy  land,  build  estates,  and  raise  horses.  Neighborly  dash 
races  were  held,  and  stallion  shows  were  feature  events  just  outside 
of  town. 

During  the  war,  the  State-supported  University  of  Kentucky  was 
started  in  the  city.  It  took  over  much  of  Transylvania's  work,  whose 
faculty  and  students  were  scattered  by  the  war.  Transylvania  later 
affiliated  with  the  College  of  the  Bible  and  specialized  in  religious 
teachings.  Growing  swiftly  after  1900,  the  university  was  modernized 
and  expanded,  and  today  it  ranks  high  among  State  educational  in- 
stitutions. 

The  World  War  boomed  the  cigarette  industry.  Tobacco  sales  and 
prices  went  so  high  that  Lexington  did  not  suffer  much  when  prohibi- 
tion came  and  closed  the  distilleries.  With  record  crops  and  soaring 
prices,  tobacco  money  became  plentiful  in  the  Bluegrass  and  its  capital. 
When  Lexington  celebrated  its  sesquicentennial  with  a  round  of  speech- 
making  and  pageantry  in  1925,  it  was  a  wealthy  and  going  city. 

The  1929  crash  hit  the  city  hard  for  a  while.  Poverty-stricken 
farmers  in  other  States  and  in  Kentucky  all  began  to  grow  tobacco. 
Prices  held  up  until  excess  production  cut  them  sharply  in  1932.  They 
lay  at  rock  bottom  until  the  great  drought  in  the  middle  thirties,  and 
then  began  to  rise  gradually.  In  1937  Lexington  markets,  which  open 
before  any  others  in  the  Burley  Belt,  cashed  in  on  a  record  crop  which 
sold  at  the  high  average  of  $22.45  a  hundredweight. 

The  University  of  Kentucky  is  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of 
business  in  the  town.  Each  year  thousands  of  school  children,  farmers, 
ministers,  and  others  flock  into  Lexington  to  attend  conferences  and 
athletic  contests  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  university.  Hun- 
dreds of  research  people  come  annually  to  the  town  to  use  the  rare 
materials  contained  in  the  two  university  libraries  and  the  Lexington 
public  library.  The  combined  facilities  of  these  libraries  constitute  a 


LEXINGTON  2OI 

notable  collection  of  Americana,  especially  that  relating  to  the  Ohio 
Valley. 

POINTS  OF  INTEREST 

1.  ASHLAND  (private),  SE.  corner  Sycamore  and  Richmond  Rds., 
was  the  home  of  Henry  Clay  (1777-1852).    The  present  house,  recon- 
structed by  Maj.  T.  Lewinski,  Lexington  architect,  dates  from  1857 
and  although  it  follows  the  same  plan  as  the  original  designed  by 
Latrobe  and  built  for  Clay  in  1806,  the  architectural  detail  is  greatly 
changed.    Set  back  from  the  street  among  trees  planted  by  Clay,  the 
two-story  central  mass  of  this  great  brick  house  is  flanked  by  one- 
story  wings.     The  main  entrance  projects  in  the  form  of  a  bay;  the 
simple  doorway  has  a  half-circle  fanlight  and  plain  molded  architrave 
and  cornice.    The  Palladian  window  above  is  accentuated  by  a  small 
eave  pediment  that  relieves  the  straight  cornice  line  of  the  roof. 

Beside  the  house  is  a  thick  pine  grove,  and  the  path  Clay  liked  to 
pace  as  he  composed  his  speeches.  Mrs.  Clay's  garden,  laid  out  by 
L'Enfant,  is  behind  the  house.  Beyond  the  south  lawn  were  the  slave 
quarters  and  barns,  with  the  great  estate,  on  which  Clay  bred  fine 
cattle  and  horses,  spreading  away  to  the  south. 

Clay  lived  here  from  1797  until  his  death  in  1852.  Becoming  a 
United  States  Senator  at  29,  he  formulated  and  championed  the  "Amer- 
ican System"  based  on  a  protective  tariff.  He  advocated  aggression 
in  the  War  of  1812  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  concluded 
the  peace.  Clay  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Senator, 
and  Secretary  of  State,  but  he  failed  in  his  life's  ambition — to  reach 
the  Presidency. 

2.  CHURCH  OF  THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD  (Episcopal),  E.  Main 
St.  and  Bell  Court,  neo-Gothic  in  style,  dedicated  in  1926,  is  known  as 
the  "Horseman's  Church"  because  Bluegrass  horsemen  gave  generously 
toward  its  building.     In  the  interior  are  carvings  by  Gustav  Lang, 
brother   of   Anton   Lang,   famous   Christus   in   the   Passion   Play   of 
Oberammergau. 

3.  The   SENATOR  POPE   HOME    (open  by  appointment),  326 
Grosvenor  Ave.,  a  two-story  red  brick  structure  built  soon  after  the 
War  of  1812,  is  now  an  apartment  house.     The  balcony  above  the 
deeply  recessed,  arched  entrance  is  part  of  the  original  design,  but  the 
porches  that  flank  it  are  of  later  date. 

John  Pope,  for  whom  the  house  was  built,  was  United  States  Senator 
from  Kentucky,  1807-13.  At  this  house  on  July  3-4,  1819,  he  enter- 
tained President  Monroe,  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson,  Gov.  Isaac  Shelby, 
and  others. 

One-armed  Senator  John  Pope  was  a  strong  political  opponent  of 
Henry  Clay.  During  one  of  their  races  for  Congress,  Clay  approached 
an  Irishman  and  asked  him  why  he  was  going  to  vote  for  his  opponent. 
The  Irishman  replied,  "Och,  Misther  Clay,  I  have  concluded  to  vote 
for  the  man  who  has  but  one  arm  to  sthrust  into  the  sthreasury." 


202  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

4.  The  JOSEPH  FICKLIN  HOUSE   (private),  SW.  corner  High 
and  S.  Limestone  Sts.,  is  a  plain  red  brick  late  Georgian  Colonial  house. 
Here  in  the  1820's  lived  Lexington's  postmaster,  Joseph  Ficklin,  and 
with  him  Jefferson  Davis  during  the  three  years  (1821-24)  that  he 
was  a  student  at  Transylvania  University. 

5.  BOTHERUM    (private),  341    Madison  PL,  was  designed  and 
built  in  the  1850's  for  Maj.  Madison  C.  Johnson  by  architect  John 
McMurtry.    The  trees  on  the  lawn  and  a  profusion  of  vines  veil  the 
Greek  Revival  one-story  stone  mansion.    Massive  stone  steps  lead  up 
to  the  four  entrances,  one  to  a  side.    White  Corinthian  columns  sup- 
port low  porticos  on  each  fagade.     A  deep-sunken  brick  walk  leads 
out  from  the  north  fagade  to  the  property  line,  beyond  which  stands 
a  giant  ginkgo  tree,  sent  from  Japan  to  Henry  Clay,  who  gave  it  to 
his  friend.     Major  Johnson  is  said  to  have  been  the  prototype  for 
Col.  Romulus  Fields  in  James  Lane  Allen's  story,  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Kentucky. 

6.  LEXINGTON  CEMETERY,  W.  Main  St.  at  city  limits,  is  the 
burial  place  of  many  of  Lexington's  illustrious  men,  including  James 
Lane  Allen,  John  C.  Breckinridge,  John  Hunt  Morgan,  and  Henry 
Clay.    The  HENRY  CLAY  MEMORIAL  (1857)  has  a  large  square  base 
from  which  rises  a  lone  Corinthian  column  supporting  a  statue  of 
Clay.     The  original,   designed  by  Joel  T.   Hart  and   cast  by  John 
Hailey  of  Frankfort,  was  destroyed  by  lightning  in  1903.    The  statue 
now  in  place,  copied  from  the  Hart  design,  is  the  work  of  Charles  J. 
Mulligan.     Within  the  base  of  the  monument  are  the  sarcophagi  of 
Clay  and  his  wife. 

7.  GLENDOWER  or  PRESTON  PLACE   (private),  W.   2nd  St. 
between  Jefferson  and  Georgetown  Sts.,  now  a  nurses'  dormitory  con- 
nected with  St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  was  built  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century.     Here  Robert  Wickliffe,  Col.  John  Todd's  son-in-law,  enter- 
tained lavishly.    After  William  Preston,  aide  on  the  staff  of  Confederate 
Gen.   Albert   Sidney  Johnston,   and  son-in-law  of  Wickliffe,   became 
owner  of  the  property,  its  reputation  for  hospitality  was  equaled  only 
by  that  of  Col.  David  Meade's  La  Chaumiere. 

8.  The  MARY  TODD  LINCOLN  HOME  (open  by  appointment), 
574  W.  Main  St.,  is  the  Georgian  Colonial  red  brick  house  where  Mary 
Todd  lived  as  a  child  and  at  the  time  she  married  Abraham  Lincoln. 
It  is  now  a  rooming  house,  and  a  grocery  store  occupies  half  of  the 
first  floor. 

Mary  Todd  was  born  December  13,  1818,  on  West  Short  Street 
where  the  Roman  Catholic  parish  house  now  stands.  Her  mother  died 
when  Mary  was  seven  years  old.  An  older  sister,  Elizabeth,  married 
the  son  and  namesake  of  Gov.  Ninian  Wirt  Edwards,  and  moved  to 
Springfield,  Illinois.  Completing  her  education  in  the  private  schools 
of  Lexington,  Mary  went  to  live  with  Elizabeth,  at  whose  home  she 
met  a  young  lawyer  named  Abraham  Lincoln.  They  kept  company, 
quarreled  to  the  breaking  point  in  1840,  married  in  1842,  and  made 
Springfield  their  home.  From  Springfield  Mary  went  to  the  White 


1.  Ashlond 

2.  Church  of  the  Good  Shepher 
'/ /             \    3.  The  Senator  Pope  Home 

/  .  4.  The  Joseph  Ficklin  House 

<  5.  Botherum 

6.  Lexington  Cemetery 


\\        /.   7.  Glendower  or  Preston  Place 
\\S/     8.  The  Mary  Todd  Lincoln 
First  Presbyterian  Church 
The  Thomas  Hart  Home 
Hopemont 

The  Benjamin  Gratz'Home 
Transylvania  College 

4.  Lexington  Public  Library 

5.  The  Bodley  House  ' 

6.  Christ  Church 

7.  Courthouse  Square 

^  The  Tobacco  Markets. 

19.  The  Trotting  Track 

20.  University  of  Kentucky 


21.  Lexington's  Westminster  At 

22.  The  William  Morton  Home 


LEXINGTON 

1938 


204  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

House.  After  Lincoln's  assassination,  she  traveled  about,  and  then 
sought  sanctuary  at  the  home  of  her  sister  Elizabeth,  where  she  died 
in  1882.  She  was  buried  beside  her  husband  in  Springfield. 

9.  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  174  N.  Mill  St.,  designed 
by  Cincinnatus  Shryock  and  completed  in   1872,  is  the  home  of  a 
church  congregation  organized  in  the  late  eighteenth  century. 

10.  The  THOMAS  HART  HOME  (private),  193  N.  Mill  St.,  a  two- 
story  Georgian  Colonial  brick  house,  was  built  in  1794  for  Thomas 
Hart,  whose  daughter,  Lucretia,  married  Henry  Clay  here.    The  young 
couple  lived  in  the  attached  house  on  North  Hill  Street  until  Ashland 
was  ready  for  them.     In  this  building  lived  John  Bradford,  editor  of 
the  Kentucky  Gazette,  John  Hunt  Morgan,  Confederate  leader  (who 
also  was  married  here),  and  Cassius  M.  Clay,  the  emancipationist. 

11.  HOPEMONT  (open  10-5  weekdays;  adm.  25$),  201  N.  Mill 
St.,  the  John  Hunt  Morgan  home,  is  a  post-Colonial  white-painted 
brick  mansion  built  in   1811   by  John  Wesley  Hunt,  grandfather  of 
John  Hunt  Morgan.    House  and  grounds  are  about  as  they  were  on 
the  day  in  1861  when  grandson  Morgan  rode  away  at  the  head  of  the 
Lexington  Rifles  to  join  the  Confederate  Army.     An  extensive  Con- 
federate museum  has  been  installed  in  the  home,  filled  with  treasures 
of  five  generations  of  Hunts  and  Morgans. 

The  house  is  entered  through  a  doorway  capped  with  an  elliptical 
fanlight  and  flanked  by  traceried  side  lights.  Immediately  within  is 
the  reception  hall  and  the  room  that  John  H.  Morgan  used  as  a  busi- 
ness office,  which  contains  many  of  his  personal  belongings.  To  the 
rear  of  the  reception  hall  is  the  dining  room,  off  which  a  long  living 
room  looks  out  upon  the  flower  garden. 

Above  stairs  and  below  are  Morgan  family  portraits  and  prints.  In 
the  basement  are  the  kitchens,  storerooms,  and  servants'  quarters  of 
slavery  days,  and  in  the  rear  of  the  main  structure  is  a  wing  with 
additional  living  quarters  for  the  household.  Behind  this  wing  are 
the  carriage  house  and  the  stable  where  Morgan's  Black  Bess  was  kept. 

John  Hunt  Morgan  (1825-1864),  born  in  Huntsville,  Alabama, 
grew  up  in  Lexington.  He  saw  service  as  a  first  lieutenant  in  the 
Mexican  War,  and  in  the  War  between  the  States  became  a  Confed- 
erate general  with  a  roving  commission  to  hamper  the  southward  ad- 
vance of  the  Union  Armies.  Early  in  July  1863  he  raided  Indiana  and 
Ohio,  and  on  July  26  was  captured  near  New  Lisbon,  Ohio.  On 
November  27  he  escaped  from  the  penitentiary  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
rejoined  the  Armies  of  the  South,  took  command  in  the  department  of 
southwestern  Virginia,  and  later  at  Jonesboro,  Georgia.  On  September 
4,  1864,  he  was  killed  in  Greeneville,  Tennessee.  His  grave  is  in  Lex- 
ington Cemetery. 

12.  The  BENJAMIN  GRATZ  HOME  (private),  231  N.  Mill  St., 
is  an  excellent  example  of  the  late  Georgian  Colonial  style.  The  exterior 
is  distinguished  by  a  fine  hand-wrought  iron  railing  on  the  entrance 
stoop  and  a  wide  arched  doorway  with  paneled  door,  flanked  by  side 
lights,  and  surmounted  by  an  elliptical  fanlight  of  leaded  glass.     This 


LEXINGTON  2O5 

house  was  built  for  Mrs.  Mary  G.  Maton  in  1806.  In  1824  Benjamin 
Gratz,  brother  of  Rebecca,  came  to  Lexington  from  Philadelphia  and 
bought  the  property.  Members  of  the  Gratz  family  have  lived  in  this 
house  continuously  since  that  date.  In  the  rear,  abutting  a  side  street, 
stands  what  is  said  to  be  the  OLDEST  BRICK  BUILDING  in  Lexington, 
used  as  a  laundry  for  the  household. 

13.  TRANSYLVANIA  COLLEGE,  W.  3rd  St.  between  Upper  St. 
and  Broadway,  with  an  enrollment  of  500  students,  is  maintained  by 
the  Christian  Church  (Disciples  of  Christ).  Its  several  red  brick  ivy- 
covered  buildings  and  Greek  Revival  Morrison  College  are  distributed 
over  a  small  campus. 

Transylvania  College,  oldest  educational  institution  west  of  the 
Alleghenies,  grew  out  of  an  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  of  1780 
setting  aside  8,000  acres  of  confiscated  Tory  land  in  Kentucky  for  the 
development  of  higher  education.  Twelve  thousand  acres  were  added 
in  1783,  and  in  1785  Transylvania  Seminary  was  opened  in  the  home 
of  "Old  Father  Rice,"  near  Danville.  Three  years  later  this  seminary 
was  removed  to  Lexington,  where  the  first  building  was  erected  in 
1794.  Following  a  dispute  over  doctrinal  matters,  Presbyterians  on 
the  board  seceded  and  set  up  a  school  known  as  Kentucky  Academy 
at  Pisgah,  11  miles  west  of  Lexington.  In  1798  Transylvania  Academy 
and  Kentucky  Academy  were  merged  as  Transylvania  University. 

Transylvania  took  high  rank  among  early  educational  institutions. 
In  its  Law  College,  where  Henry  Clay  was  a  professor  (1805-07), 
were  trained  many  of  the  early  leaders  of  the  legal  and  political  life 
of  the  West.  Dr.  Samuel  Brown,  pioneer  in  smallpox  vaccination, 
founded  the  College  of  Medicine  (1799),  which  in  its  first  60  years 
graduated  more  than  2,000  physicians.  Affiliated  with  Transylvania 
is  the  College  of  the  Bible,  a  post-graduate  theological  school. 

MORRISON  COLLEGE  is  a  Greek  Revival  brick  building  designed  by 
the  Lexington  architect  Gideon  Shryock  and  completed  in  1833.  The 
three-story  structure  has  a  massive  two-story  Doric  portico  with  fluted 
columns,  approached  by  a  broad  flight  of  steps.  In  one  of  the  vaults 
flanking  the  steps  are  the  remains  of  Constantine  Rafinesque.  Born 
in  Turkey,  of  French  and  German  descent,  Rafinesque  settled  in 
America  in  1815.  He  was  one  of  the  strangest  and  most  brilliant 
figures  of  the  middle  frontier,  an  authority  on  natural  history,  espe- 
cially botany,  shells,  fishes,  banking  and  political  history.  At  Transyl- 
vania he  was  professor  of  modern  languages,  practically  founding  that 
subject  in  America,  and  was  possibly  the  first  to  give  illustrated  lec- 
tures. In  1824  he  published  Ancient  History:  or  Annals  of  Kentucky, 
and  his  later  works  on  American  flora  were  authoritative  for  their  day. 
Traversing  the  wilderness  hunting  specimens,  bearded  and  oddly  clad, 
with  a  pack  on  his  back,  he  was  often  taken  by  the  natives  for  an 
itinerant  peddler,  and  many  pranks  were  played  on  him  by  John  James 
Audubon  and  other  wilderness  men.  The  LIBRARY  (open  8-4  Mon.- 
Fri.,  8-12:15  Sat.)  was  long  rated  one  of  the  best  in  the  United  States. 
Its  collection  of  medical  books  is  especially  notable.  RUSH  MUSEUM 


206  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

(open  by  appointment)  has  good  collections  of  bird  specimens  and 
classroom  apparatus  used  a  century  ago  in  natural  science  classes. 

14.  LEXINGTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY   (open  8:30-9  weekdays; 
2-6  Sun.),  W.  2nd  St.  between  Market  and  N.  Mill  Sts.,  was  organized 
in  1795  as  a  pay  library  endowed  by  annual  subscriptions,  and  is  the 
oldest  circulating  library  west  of  the  Alleghenies.     In   1903  Andrew 
Carnegie  gave  $60,000  toward  the  construction  of  the  present  build- 
ing.    The  library  has  numerous  volumes  on  the  history  of  Lexington 
and  the  Bluegrass,  and  a  file  of  rare  newspapers,  including  issues  of 
the  old  Kentucky  Gazette. 

On  the  second  floor,  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  is  a  case  containing 
a  collection  of  coins,  State  money,  "shinplasters,"  and  other  early 
curios;  and  in  another  is  a  collection  of  stuffed  Bluegrass  song  birds, 
among  them  the  Kentucky  cardinal,  "redbird"  of  the  South. 

15.  The  BODLEY  HOUSE  (private),  200  Market  St.,  an  old  post- 
Colonial  house  once  the  property  of  Col.  Thomas  Bodley,  War  of  1812 
veteran,  was  built  soon  after  that  war.    During  the  War  between  the 
States  this  home  was  a  headquarters  for  Union  troops,  and  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Winslow  Dudley,  surgeon  and  Transylvania  professor,  owned  it 
for  a  time. 

16.  CHRIST    CHURCH    (Episcopal),    NE.    corner    Church    and 
Market  Sts.,  a  Victorian  Gothic  structure  designed  by  Maj.  T.  Lewin- 
ski,  stands  on  a  site  occupied  by  Episcopal  churches  since  1796.    The 
cornerstone  of  the  present  brick  building  was  laid  in  1847.    The  chimes 
in  the  tower  were  given  by  Mrs.  Rosa  Johnson  Rhett  in  memory  of 
her  mother,  Rose  Vertner  Jeffrey,  Bluegrass  poetess. 

17.  COURTHOUSE  SQUARE,  W.  Main  St.  between  Upper  St.  and 
Cheapside,  is  in  the  center  of  downtown  Lexington.    Within  the  park- 
like  area  stands  FAYETTE  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  a  massive  three-story 
stone  building  designed  in  the  Romanesque  style,  surmounted  by  a 
dome  above  which  swings  the  golden  stallion  weather  vane. 

On  the  east  lawn  of  the  square  is  the  equestrian  STATUE  OF  JOHN 
HUNT  MORGAN,  showing  him  sitting  in  full  uniform  upon  his  charger. 
Among  the  names  on  the  plaque  of  the  SOLDIER'S  MEMORIAL,  World 
War  monument  before  the  Main  Street  entrance,  is  that  of  a  woman, 
Curry  Desha  Brickinridge,  Red  Cross  nurse.  On  the  west  side  of  the 
square  in  CHEAPSIDE  PARK  is  the  BRECKINRIDGE  STATUE,  erected  by 
the  State  of  Kentucky  in  memory  of  John  Cabell  Breckinridge  (1821- 
1875),  Lexington  lawyer  who  at  30  was  elected  U.S.  Representative, 
and  at  35,  Vice  President  of  the  United  States.  At  the  Baltimore  Con- 
vention of  1860  he  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  pro-slavery 
seceders  from  the  convention.  With  the  outbreak  of  the  War  between 
the  States,  Breckinridge  joined  the  Confederate  army,  was  put  in  com- 
mand of  the  Kentucky  Brigade  under  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston, 
and  in  January  1865  became  Confederate  Secretary  of  War. 

Throughout  the  years  Cheapside  has  been  an  open-air  forum  where 
men  with  causes,  or  no  causes  at  all,  air  their  opinions.  Statesmen  and 
office  seekers  harangue  the  passing  crowd.  The  strolling  ballad  singer 


LEXINGTON  207 

finds  a  sympathetic  audience.  An  occasional  group  of  worshipers 
gather  about  the  fountains  for  prayer  and  praise.  Perched  on  the  base 
of  the  Breckinridge  Memorial,  a  lanky  religious  exhorter  sometimes  tells 
his  little  circle  of  listeners  about  death  and  judgment  to  come. 

18.  The  TOBACCO  MARKETS  (open  from  first  Mon.  in  Dec.  until 
about  March  1)  are  held  in  southwestern  Lexington,  in  the  heart  of 
the  tobacco  warehousing  district.    Here,  in  26  handling  houses,  called 
"sales  floors,"  the  "brown  gold"  crop  of  the  Bluegrass  is  sold.    Several 
times  during  each  winter  these  sales  floors  are  cleared,  filled  with  new 
deliveries  from  the  farms,  and  cleared  again,  until  the  last  of  the  crop 
has  moved  on  to  processors. 

The  tobacco,  known  to  the  farmer  and  the  tobacco  merchant  simply 
as  "white  burley,"  comes  to  the  sales  floor  cured  and  graded  by  the 
farmer.  His  entire  crop  is  arranged,  according  to  quality,  in  baskets 
upon  each  of  which  an  agent  of  the  warehouse  has  placed  a  starting 
bid.  Down  the  narrow  aisle  between  the  high-piled  baskets  pass  auc- 
tioneer, bidders,  and  gallery.  The  auctioneer,  sing-songing  a  sales 
jargon,  unintelligible  to  the  visitor,  tries  to  drum  up  the  bid.  The 
jew's-harp  chant  goes  on  continually,  interrupted  only  by  a  nod,  a  wink, 
or  a  word  spoken  by  competing  buyers.  An  unsatisfactory  bid  can  be 
rejected  by  the  owner,  whose  lot  is  then  held  for  a  subsequent  sale. 

Close  on  the  heels  of  the  main  actors  shuffles  the  gallery,  straining 
forward  to  catch  every  shift  in  the  action,  for  upon  these  sales  depends 
the  good  or  ill  fortune  of  the  year. 

19.  The  TROTTING  TRACK  (1873),  S.  on  Broadway  in  the  rear 
of  Tattersall's  Sales  Stables,  is  the  mile  oval  of  the  Kentucky  Trotting 
Horse  Breeders'  Association.    Spring  and  fall  meets  on  the  Grand  Cir- 
cuit are  held  here  on  what  horsemen  believe  to  be  the  fastest  trotting 
strip  in  the  world.    Twenty  American  trotting  and  pacing  records  have 
been  made  on  this  track.    In  1937,  Alma  Sheppard,  11  years  old,  drove 
Dean  Hanover  over  the  track  in  1:58^.    This  horse  was  given  to  the 
girl  by  her  father,  when  no  one  else  seemed  to  be  able  to  do  anything 
with  him.     She  trained  him  herself,  entered  him  in  the  race,  and  set 
one  of  the  track  records,  only  2*/2  seconds  from  the  world's  record. 
Other  records  made  on  this  track  include  the  fastest  three  heats,  by 
Rosaline   in    1937;    trotting   record   with   mate   against   time,   Uhlan 
( 1:541/2)  1913;  trotting  record  by  team,  Uhlan  and  Louis  Forest,  1912. 
One  of  the  two  world  records  broken  in  1938  was  the  mile  pacing  time 
of  Dan  Patch  in  1905,  shattered  by  Billy  Direct  (1:55). 

20.  UNIVERSITY  OF  KENTUCKY  (buildings  open  daily  except 
Sun.  and  holidays),  S.  Limestone  St.  and  Euclid  Ave.,  was  established 
in  1866  as  a  land-grant  college  (following  the  passage  of  the  Morrill  Act 
in  1862)  and  became  part  of  Kentucky  University,  formerly  Transyl- 
vania University.     The  Agricultural  and   Mechanical  divisions  were 
located  on  the  Henry  Clay  farm,  Ashland,  but  due  to  unfavorable  finan- 
cial arrangements  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  college  was  trans- 
ferred to  its  present  location,  and  completely  separated  from  Kentucky 


208  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

University.     The  university  has  been  on  its  present  94-acre  campus 
since  1878. 

The  plant,  excluding  the  experimental  farm,  consists  of  forty-eight 
buildings  located  somewhat  at  random  on  the  campus.  On  the  left  of 
the  north  gate  entrance  is  the  NEW  STUDENT  UNION  BUILDING,  which 
houses  all  the  offices  of  the  student  activities,  the  ball  and  assembly 
rooms,  the  cafeteria  and  other  shops.  Beyond  and  immediately  to  the 
left  is  FRAZEE  HALL  in  which  are  the  departments  of  Sociology,  Phi- 
losophy, History,  and  University  Extension. 

The  oldest  classroom  building  now  in  use  is  the  classic  revival  ADMIN- 
ISTRATION BUILDING,  at  the  top  of  the  hill  facing  the  parade  ground 
and  Limestone  Street,  which  houses  the  administrative  offices.  East 
of  the  Administration  Building  are  the  Archeological  Museum  (Old 
Library),  the  Faculty  Club  (Patterson  home),  Lafferty  Hall,  and  the 
Library.  The  Faculty  Club  building  is  typical  of  the  homes  built  in 
Kentucky  during  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Lafferty 
Hall  is  modern  in  design  and  typifies  the  plan  of  the  buildings  which 
have  been  constructed  since  1935.  The  LIBRARY,  the  first  unit  of  which 
has  been  completed,  was  constructed  in  1931  and  is  Georgian  in  design. 
It  houses  the  university's  collection  of  approximately  270,000  books  and 
pamphlets.  This  is  the  largest  and  most  complete  library  collection  in 
the  State. 

East  of  the  Library  is  MAXWELL  PLACE,  the  home  of  the  President 
of  the  university.  The  house,  Italian  Renaissance  in  design,  was  for- 
merly the  home  of  James  Hilary  Mulligan. 

West  of  the  library  is  a  hall  which  houses  the  State  department  of 
Mines  and  Geology,  and  the  university  department  of  Botany.  To  the 
south  beyond  the  library  are  the  Physics  and  Chemistry  buildings. 
Across  the  open  court  to  the  south  is  McVey  Hall,  a  classroom  build- 
ing. At  the  end  of  the  quadrangle  is  the  new  1939  Biological  Science 
Building. 

West  of  McVey  Hall  in  the  center  of  the  large  commons  is  the 
MEMORIAL  HALL,  of  Greek  Revival  design  with  a  Christopher  Wren 
tower.  The  building  was  erected  by  public  subscription  as  a  memorial 
to  Kentucky's  World  War  dead.  On  the  left  and  right  of  the  foyer  are 
memorial  plaques  and  on  the  wall  facing  the  entrance  is  a  large  mural 
depicting  the  growth  of  the  State.  The  auditorium  seats  eleven  hun- 
dred. Immediately  west  of  Memorial  Hall  is  the  College  of  Agriculture 
Building. 

North  of  Memorial  Hall  is  the  Engineering  College  quadrangle.  Di- 
rectly west  of  the  quadrangle  is  Neville  Hall  and  farther  west,  facing 
the  front  circular  drive,  is  the  building  which  houses  the  university  dis- 
pensary and  the  classrooms  of  the  department  of  Hygiene. 

To  the  north  and  rear  of  Neville  Hall  is  the  Natural  Science  Build- 
ing, which  houses  the  geological  library  and  exhibits.  West  of  the  Ad- 
ministration Building,  across  Limestone  and  Upper  Streets,  is  the  Col- 
lege of  Education  and  Associated  Schools,  a  Greek  Revival  building  of 


LEXINGTON  20Q 

three  units.  East  on  Euclid  from  its  intersection  with  Limestone  are 
other  buildings  of  the  university. 

Across  Graham  Avenue  to  the  south  are  some  of  the  experimental 
buildings  of  the  College  of  Agriculture,  and  at  Graham  Avenue  and 
Limestone  Street  is  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  with  its  labora- 
tories and  offices.  The  UNIVERSITY  FARM  of  620  acres  is  on  the  east 
side  of  Rose  Street  beginning  at  Graham  Avenue. 

The  university  is  composed  of  seven  colleges,  the  Experiment  Station, 
and  the  Department  of  University  Extension.  The  enrollment  is  ap- 
proximately 3,700  and  about  2,000  students  attend  the  summer  sessions. 

The  Experiment  Station  has  associated  with  it  the  sub-station  of 
15,000  acres  at  Quicksand,  and  the  sub-station  of  600  acres  at  Princeton. 

21.  "LEXINGTON'S  WESTMINSTER  ABBEY,"  E.  3rd  St.  be- 
tween Walnut  and  Deweese  Sts.,  is  a  local  name  for  several  old  ceme- 
teries dating  from  the  years  immediately  after  the  1833  cholera  epi- 
demic.    Within  this  area  lie  members  of  the  Bradford  family;  John 
Grimes,  the  artist  whose  portrait  by  Jouett  hangs  in  the  Metropolitan 
Art  Museum;  John  Postlethwait,  early  innkeeper;  and  many  other  old- 
time  residents.    The  SEXTON'S  COTTAGE,  designed  by  John  McMurtry, 
is  an  excellent  example  of  a  Tudor  cottage.    The  little  GREEK  TEMPLE 
was  erected  by  Gideon  Shryock  as  a  memorial  to  his  parents. 

22.  The  WILLIAM  MORTON  HOME  (Duncan  Park  Day  Nurs- 
ery), NE.  corner  N.  Limestone  and  5th  Sts.,  was  built  and  furnished  on 
a  lavish  scale  in  1810  by  William  ("Lord")  Morton,  younger  son  of  a 
titled  English  family.    After  the  death  of  "Lord"  Morton  in  1836,  the 
place  became  the  home  of  Cassius  M.  Clay. 

23.  LOUDOUN  (open  8:30-5:30  weekdays)^  Bryan  Ave.  and  Cas- 
tlewood  Dr.,  now  the  city's  Castlewood  Community  Center,  was  erected 
in  1850  by  Francis  K.  Hunt,  son  of  a  pioneer  Lexington  industrialist. 
Architect  John  McMurtry  designed  the  building  in  the  Gothic  Revival 
style,  and  embellished  it  with  pointed-arch  windows,  a  battlemented 
turret,  hand-carved  woodwork,  and  Jacobean  chimneys. 

24.  SAYRE  COLLEGE  (open  weekdays  on  request,  during  school 
year),  194  N.  Limestone  St.,  preparatory  school  dating  from  1854,  was 
among  the  first  schools  in  America  to  offer  women  a  full  college  cur- 
riculum.   It  is  housed  in  three  red  brick  buildings,  each  three  stories 
high. 

In  the  basement  of  Sayre  is  BARLOW  PLANETARIUM,  invented  in 
1844  by  Thomas  Harris  Barlow  of  Lexington.  Designed  to  illustrate 
the  activity  of  the  solar  system,  this  invention  so  simplified  the  teach- 
ing of  astronomy  that  300  like  it  were  manufactured  and  sold  to  the 
United  States  Government,  public  institutions,  and  colleges  throughout 
the  world.  Only  a  few  are  still  in  use. 

25.  WHITEHALL  (private),  NE.  corner  Limestone  and  Barr  Sts., 
a  two-story  white  brick  structure  in  the  Greek  Revival  style,  designed 
by  Gideon  Shryock  and  built  1834-36  for  the  Wear  family,  stands  well 
back  from  Limestone  Street.    Here  in  the  1850's  lived  Thomas  Mar- 
shall, a  descendant  of  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall. 


2IO  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

26.  ROSE  HILL  (private),  461  N.  Limestone  St.,  a  low,  rambling 
Georgian  Colonial  structure,  was  built  in  1818  by  John  Brand,  hemp 
manufacturer.     The  entrance  is  copied  after  that  of  the  Temple  of 
Minerva  in  the  Maison  Carree  of  Nimes,  France. 

27.  PHOENIX  HOTEL,  120  E.  Main  St.,  stands  on  the  SITE  OF 
POSTLETHWAIT'S  TAVERN.    In  the  lobby  hang  pictures  of  great  Ken- 
tucky thoroughbreds.    The  dining  room  behind  the  lobby  is  finished  in 
early  English  tavern  style.     The  coffee  shop  displays  medallions  of 
prominent  Kentuckians. 

In  1790  Capt.  John  Postlethwait,  Revolutionary  officer,  came  to  Lex- 
ington and  for  43  years  put  his  finger  into  every  Lexington  pie.  He 
was  trader,  merchant,  innkeeper,  and  generous  citizen.  His  first  tavern 
was  built  in  1797.  He  gathered  the  horsemen  of  his  time  about  the 
huge  fireplace  of  his  tavern,  and  talked  up  the  breeding  of  light  horses. 
The  tavern  caught  fire  twice,  and  thenceforward  the  name  Phoenix  was 
attached  to  the  hotel.  The  old  section  of  the  present  structure  dates 
from  the  third  fire,  which  occurred  during  a  race  in  1879. 


HORSE  FARM  TOUR  1 

Lexington  to  Lexington,  22.5  m.;  US  60  (Winchester  Pike),  Hume  Rd.,  Bryan 
Station  Pike,  Johnston  Rd.,  US  27-68  (Paris  Pike),  Ironworks  Pike,  Newtown 
Pike. 

Hard-surfaced  throughout. 

Horse  Farms  on  this  route  open  to  public;  permission  to  visit  stables  must  be 
obtained  at  farm  offices.  Visitors  are  required  to  refrain  from  smoking  and  to  shut 
all  gates  that  they  open.  Many  of  the  gates  are  of  the  patent  type  that  can  be 
opened  and  shut  from  motor  cars.  Numbers  in  parentheses  correspond  with  num- 
bers on  Horse  Farm  Tour  map. 

East  on  US  60  from  the  Zero  Milestone,  at  the  corner  of  Main  St. 
and  Union  Station  Viaduct  on  Walnut  St.,  to  Midland  St. ;  L.  on  Mid- 
land St.  to  3rd  St.,  here  called  Winchester  Pike. 

The  entrance  to  (28)  PATCHEN  WILKES  STOCK  FARM  (L),  is 
at  3.2  m.  (open  9-4  on  request).  This  once  busy  horse  place,  now 
devoted  to  the  raising  of  cattle  and  sheep,  was  owned  a  century  and 
more  ago  by  Capt.  Benjamin  Warfield  on  land  granted  to  the  Warfield 
family  by  the  colony  of  Virginia  before  the  Revolution.  Prior  to  1825 
he  built  the  one-story  brick  house  with  rooms  opening  on  a  porch 
enclosing  three  sides  of  a  flower-bordered  rear  court.  The  white  house, 
sheltered  by  a  grove  of  trees,  the  large  barn  and  other  buildings  are  in 
a  striking  position  on  the  brow  and  crest  of  two  sweeping  slopes  half 
a  mile  from  the  highway.  For  years  the  horse  farm  was  operated  by 
W.  E.  D.  Stokes,  of  New  York. 

The  farm  was  named  for  the  blooded  sire,  Patchen  Wilkes.  Peter 
the  Great,  purchased  as  a  nine-year-old  stallion  with  a  track  record  of 
2:07^,  having  stood  here  for  more  than  a  decade,  sold  at  the  age  of 
21  for  $50,000. 

At  3.6  m.  is  the  entrance  to  (29)  HAMBURG  PLACE  (R),  acquired 


212  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

in  1897  by  John  E.  Madden,  and  since  owned  and  operated  by  his  son 
J.  E.  Madden,  Jr.  The  estate,  consisting  of  approximately  2,700  acres 
and  extending  several  miles  along  the  highway,  was  named  for  Ham- 
burg, a  great  thoroughbred,  which,  after  being  successfully  campaigned 
30  years  ago,  stood  after  his  retirement  with  pronounced  success.  Since 
1929  Hamburg  Place  has  been  important  for  the  breeding  of  polo 
ponies. 

At  Hamburg  Place  have  been  foaled  and  bred  six  Kentucky  Derby 
winners — the  largest  number  to  come  from  any  one  nursery.  Plaudit, 
the  first  of  these,  won  the  Kentucky  Derby  of  1898  (ll/\.  m.)  in  what 
was  then  the  creditable  time  of  2:09. 

Behind  the  unpretentious  green-trimmed  white  frame  residence  is  the 
old-fashioned  barn  in  which  were  foaled  and  bred  the  other  five  Ken- 
tucky Derby  winners.  Old  Rosebud,  the  second  Madden  Derby  win- 
ner, after  establishing  a  reputation  when  a  two-year-old,  went  to  the 
post  in  the  1914  Derby  as  a  favorite  and  ran  the  distance  handily  in 
2:03%,  a  new  track  record.  Old  Rosebud  was  a  frequent  winner  in 
high  class  company  after  taking  the  purse  at  Churchill  Downs,  until, 
as  an  aged  horse,  patched  up  and  returned  to  the  turf  following  a 
breakdown,  he  met  with  a  fatal  accident  during  a  race  in  the  East.  Sir 
Barton,  winner  of  the  Kentucky  Derby  in  1919,  was  the  last  of  the 
great  Star  Shoots  and  the  only  maiden  performer  ever  to  win  this  stake. 
Although  Sir  Barton's  time  was  slow  (2:09%)  due  to  an  off  track,  he 
demonstrated  his  class  later  in  the  month  by  winning  the  Preakness  in 
Maryland.  Paul  Jones,  a  fine  mudder,  won  the  Kentucky  Derby  in 
1920  over  a  heavy  track  (2:09).  Zev,  the  fifth  Derby  winner,  was 
by  the  successful  Madden  sire,  The  Finn,  from  the  good  race  mare, 
Miss  Kearney.  Zev,  possessed  of  a  high  flight  of  speed,  was  also  a 
superior  mud  runner.  For  the  Derby  of  1923  he  turned  in  the  fair 
time  of  2:05%.  Zev  defeated  the  great  English  colt,  Papyrus,  in 
their  $100,000  match  race  in  the  East  in  1924,  and  In  Memoriam  at 
Churchill  Downs  later.  Flying  Ebony,  another  son  of  The  Finn  also 
ridden  to  victory  by  the  much-publicized  jockey,  Earle  Sande,  won  the 
Kentucky  Derby  of  1925  over  a  sloppy  track  in  2:07%. 

The  stables  of  Hamburg  Place  are  empty  except  in  winter  when  polo 
ponies  are  quartered  here. 

NANCY  HANKS  HORSE  GRAVEYARD  (30)  4.1  m.  (R),  sur- 
rounded by  a  horseshoe-shaped  field-stone  fence,  is  the  burial  ground 
of  a  dozen  horses  that  made  John  E.  Madden  famous  as  a  breeder. 
Nancy  Hanks,  considered  one  of  the  greatest  trotters  that  ever  lived, 
is  buried  in  the  center  of  the  plot.  A  stone  monument,  topped  with  a 
miniature  statue  of  the  great  mare,  stands  over  her  grave.  Eleven  other 
noted  harness  horses  and  thoroughbreds  are  buried  in  a  semicircle 
around  the  Nancy  Hanks  monument.  Of  these  Plaudit  is  perhaps  the 
best  remembered.  The  others  are  Hamburg  Belle,  noted  trotting  mare, 
Ida  Pickwick,  Imp.  Star  Shoot,  famed  mostly  as  a  successful  sire  of 
brood  mares,  Lady  Starling,  Ogden,  Major  Delmar,  Siliko,  Silikon, 
and  Imp. 


LEXINGTON  213 

At  4.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  Hume  Rd.  The  main  route  of  the  tour 
turns  L.  here. 

Right  (straight  ahead)  on  US  60,  0.6  m.  to  (31)  the  IROQUOIS  HUNT  AND 
POLO  CLUB  (open  May  or  June  to  September  1)  entered  (R)  through  iron 
gates  bearing  silhouetted  figures  of  polo  players.  The  landscaped  grounds  of  the 
club  include  four  polo  fields — one  for  exhibition  matches,  another  as  a  practice 
field  for  men,  a  third  for  women,  and  the  fourth  field  for  children. 

Polo  ponies  are  drawn  from  the  best  blooded  and  mixed  stock  obtainable,  using 
sires  and  dams  of  all  three  light  horse  breeds.  Nimble,  intelligent  native  mares, 
bred  to  thoroughbred,  trotter,  or  saddle  horse  sires,  produce  a  high  proportion  of 
colts  having  the  desired  qualities,  and  Western  ponies  have  been  crossed  upon  thor- 
oughbreds. Polo  ponies  range  in  weight  up  to  1,400  pounds,  and  the  qualities  de- 
manded are  good  bone,  intelligence,  quick  action,  and  sure-footedness.  Matches, 
open  to  the  public,  are  frequently  played  here. 

Left  on  Hume  Rd.,  at  7  m.  is  the  junction  with  Bryan  Station  Pike; 
R.  on  Bryan  Station  Pike  to  the  junction  with  Johnston  Rd.,  9.3  m.; 
L.  on  Johnston  Rd. 

On  Johnston  Rd.  is  (32)  (L)  LLANGOLLEN  (Welsh,  pronounced 
Thlangothlen),  10 .3  m.,  which  has  a  color  motif  of  white  trimmed  in 
black.  This  273-acre  farm,  owned  by  John  Hay  Whitney,  is  one  of  the 
three  Whitney  horse  farms  in  the  Bluegrass.  At  the  head  of  this  stud 
for  seven  years  was  Imp.  Royal  Minstrel,  a  gray,  many  of  whose  get 
are  of  that  color.  This  horse,  returned  to  England  in  the  latter  part 
of  1938,  was  campaigned  in  America  and  is  said  to  have  won  more  for 
his  American  owner  than  his  purchase  price  of  $75,000.  His  victories 
on  English  courses  include  the  Eclipse,  Craven,  Cork  and  Orrery  Stakes, 
and  the  Victoria  Cup.  Here  also  is  standing  the  Bonnie  Scotland 
thoroughbred,  The  Porter.  This  horse,  a  small  chestnut  and  a  superior 
performer  in  "sloppy"  going,  was  owned  when  in  training  and  for  some 
time  after  his  retirement  by  E.  B.  McLean  of  Washington.  Somewhat 
like  Ferdinand  the  Bull,  The  Porter,  a  dignified  old  gentleman,  is  fasci- 
nated by  butterflies,  but  despises  dogs,  cats,  and  roosters.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  his  get  have  won  more  than  $1,350,000.  The  Porter  sired 
Toro,  a  bay  from  Imp.  Brocatelle,  in  1925,  who  as  a  three-year-old  was 
just  about  the  shiftiest  of  his  age.  Although  Toro's  turf  career  was 
short  his  winnings  amounted  to  $142,530. 

Johnston  Rd.  runs  to  a  dead  end  at  its  junction,  10.8  m.,  with  US 
27-68,  which  is  here  called  the  Paris  Pike.  Right  on  US  27-68. 

The  C.  V.  WHITNEY  FARM  (33)  11 A  m.  (open  11-4,  February- 
June  20:  no  specific  hours  at  other  times),  its  yellow  buildings  (R) 
forming  a  striking  contrast  with  the  green  landscaped  grounds,  is 
entered  from  the  Paris  Pike.  The  900-acre  estate  has  11  well-built 
and  ventilated  barns  including  three  for  stallions  (one  of  them  floored 
with  cork),  a  two-story  frame  cottage,  and  a  two-story  stone  farm  office 
building  (L),  and  a  one-mile  training  course.  About  a  mile  from  the 
entrance,  in  a  wooded  area  near  one  of  the  stallion  barns,  is  the  ceme- 
tery where  Broomstick,  Peter  Pan,  Whiskbroom  II,  Prudery,  Regret- 
only  filly  ever  to  win  the  Kentucky  Derby — Pennant,  and  the  great 
Equipoise  (d.  1938)  are  buried. 


214  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

Broomstick,  favorite  stock  horse  of  James  (Jimmy)  Rowe,  head 
trainer  for  so  many  years  for  Harry  Payne  Whitney,  was  a  consistent 
winner  regardless  of  the  fields  in  which  he  competed.  Through  his  sire, 
Ben  Brush,  he  came  of  the  hardy  Bonnie  Scotland  line.  Broomstick 
headed  the  stud  founded  by  William  C.  Whitney,  and,  among  a  goodly 
number  of  superior  performers,  he  sired  Regret,  Dam,  Jersey  Lightning, 
by  Hamburg.  In  the  Kentucky  Derby,  over  a  track  thought  to  have 
been  fully  a  second  and  a  half  on  the  slow  side,  he  won  easily  by  two 
open  lengths  over  Pebbles  in  2:05%.  Whiskbroom  II,  a  chestnut  foaled 
in  1907  by  Broomstick- Audience,  could  run  fast  and  far,  even  under 
high  imposts.  Among  the  successful  performers  sired  by  him  is  the  Ken- 
tucky Derby  winner,  Whiskery.  Prudery,  a  filly  rated  good  enough  to 
be  started  in  the  Kentucky  Derby  (1921),  finished  third  to  the  Bradley 
pair,  Behave  Yourself  and  Black  Servant.  Prudery,  by  Peter  Pan-Polly 
Flinders,  was  a  fine  race  mare,  and  in  the  stud  she  produced  Victorian 
and  Whiskery,  winners  respectively  of  $253,425  and  $103,565.  Peter 
Pan,  by  Commando-Imp.  Cinderella,  was  owned  and  raced  by  James 
R.  Keene.  A  son  of  one  of  America's  truly  great  horses,  Peter  Pan,  a 
fine  performer  and  a  stock  horse  of  more  than  usual  merit,  won  above 
$100,000,  and  among  his  get  were  Pennant,  sire  of  Equipoise,  outstand- 
ing performer  of  recent  years,  and  the  noted  race  and  brood  mare, 
Prudery.  Pennant,  best  remembered  as  the  sire  of  Equipoise,  was  a 
good  thoroughbred  race  horse. 

Equipoise,  by  Pennant-Swinging,  one  of  those  thoroughbreds  that 
breeders,  large  and  small,  live  from  year  to  year  in  the  hope  of  pro- 
ducing, was  one  of  the  outstanding  performers  of  all  time.  Campaigned 
by  C.  V.  Whitney,  he  was  retired  in  1937  and  put  at  stud  after  winning 
stakes  and  purses  of  $300,000  or  more.  Only  Sun  Beau,  W.  S.  Kilmer's 
champion  handicapper,  with  winnings  of  $338,610,  has  exceeded  those 
of  Equipoise.  A  brown  chunk  of  a  horse,  on  the  small  side,  Equipoise 
completed  his  two-year  season  by  finishing  an  eyelash  behind  Twenty 
Grand  in  the  Kentucky  Jockey  Club  Stakes  at  one  mile,  in  time  that 
broke  the  record  for  horses  of  his  age  at  the  distance,  under  scale 
weight.  He  was  handicapped  by  a  bad  hoof,  and  failed  to  train  for  the 
Kentucky  Derby  of  1931.  He  died  unexpectedly  from  an  intestinal  ail- 
ment after  standing  little  more  than  a  year. 

Chicle,  of  fashionable  blood  line  (Spearmint-Lady  Hamburg)  foaled 
in  1913,  has  sired  horses  that  have  won  more  than  a  million  dollars. 
At  stud  here  are  such  excellent  performers  during  their  days  on  the  turf 
as  Peace  Chance,  one  of  the  fastest  running  horses  America  has  pro- 
duced, Halcyon,  Whichone,  and  Firethorn,  a  good  thoroughbred  race 
horse  (by  Imp.  Sun-Briar-Baton  Rouge)  campaigned  actively  since 
1935. 

Peace  Chance,  a  bay  by  Chance  Shot-Peace,  was  foaled  in  1931. 
Although  his  career  was  shortened  by  a  leg  ailment,  his  winnings 
amounted  to  almost  $50,000.  Possessed  of  blinding  speed  and  a  stout 
heart,  this  young  stallion  promises  to  be  a  successful  stock  horse. 
Halcyon,  a  bay  foaled  in  1928,  is  by  Broomstick,  from  Prudery,  both 


LEXINGTON  215 

of  which  are  dead.  Halcyon,  a  shifty  performer  in  good  company  and 
now  at  stud  on  the  C.  V.  Whitney  farm,  has  the  making  of  an  excellent 
stock  horse,  and  choice  mares  are  being  sent  to  his  court.  Whichone, 
one  of  the  fastest  two-year-olds  of  record,  is  a  bay  horse,  by  Chick- 
Flying  Witch,  foaled  in  1927.  Although  he  went  amiss  early  and  was 
retired,  his  winnings  amounted  to  $192,705,  most  of  it  earned  during 
his  first  season  on  the  turf. 

At  11.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  Ironworks  Pike.  The  main  tour 
route  turns  left  on  Ironworks  Pike. 

Right  (straight  ahead)  on  US  27-68,  0.2  m.  to  (34)  ELMENDORF  (L)  (open 
8-4  weekdays),  owned  by  Joseph  E.  Widener.  This  1,300-acre  estate,  through 
which  North  Elkhorn  meanders,  has  a  natural  beauty  enhanced  by  landscaping. 
Four  Corinthian  columns  and  two  marble  lions  on  a  hilltop  are  all  that  remain 
of  the  marble  palace  built  in  1897-1900  by  James  B.  Haggin,  copper  magnate, 
for  his  bride.  The  house  was  razed  in  1929  to  avoid  payment  of  taxes  on  so 
costly  a  building.  Mr.  Haggin  built  up  an  estate  of  13,000  acres  from  the  orig- 
inal 564  acres,  which  he  acquired  in  1891. 

Among  the  many  barns  at  Elmendorf  the  red  brick  Norman  French  barn  (L) 
is  the  most  striking,  its  slate  roof  decorated  with  models  of  animals  and  birds. 
Above  it  rises  a  two-story  tower  with  a  clock  from  Normandy  and  a  bell  that 
strikes  every  half-hour.  Another  barn  is  in  two  parts  with  the  30  stalls  facing 
an  enclosed  oval  tanbark  track.  Among  the  thoroughbreds  housed  here  are 
Brevity,  Chance  Shot,  son  of  Fair  Play,  dam,  Imp.  Quelle  Chance,  Imp.  Sickle, 
and  Haste. 

Brevity,  a  bay  by  Chance  Shot,  or  Imp.  Sickle,  dam,  Imp.  Ormando,  was  the 
best  of  the  1935  two-year-olds,  and  his  brilliant  performances  at  that  age  were 
followed  by  an  equally  impressive  race  or  two  at  Miami  the  following  winter. 
He  came  north  to  fulfill  his  engagement  in  the  Kentucky  Derby  of  1936,  the  odds- 
on  favorite  in  a  smart  field.  Knocked  to  his  knees  at  the  start,  he  got  away 
tenth  in  a  field  of  fourteen,  and  worked  his  way  up  to  finish  a  head  behind 
Bold  Venture,  the  winner.  He  went  amiss  in  his  three-year-old  season,  and  has 
since  been  at  stud.  Chance  Shot,  a  bay  foaled  in  1924,  has  been  a  consistent  sire 
of  winners,  among  them  no  less  a  performer  than  Peace  Chance,  turf  winner  of 
$142,277.  Imp.  Sickle,  an  English  thoroughbred  by  Phalaris-Selene,  she  by 
Chaucer,  is  a  brown  foaled  in  1924  and  imported  for  breeding  purposes.  A 
prolific  sire,  he  has  sent  to  the  races  such  performers  as  Brevity,  Stagehand, 
Reaping  Reward,  and  others  of  stakes  caliber.  Haste,  a  bay  thoroughbred  by 
Imp.  Maintenant-Miss  Malaprop,  foaled  in  1923,  was  an  excellent  performer  and 
has  sired  a  number  of  good  horses,  usually  with  high  flight  of  speed  and  ability 
to  excel  over  muddy  going.  As  a  two-year-old  he  won  the  Saratoga  Special  and 
the  Grand  Winner  Hotel  Stakes,  and  at  three  years  old  the  Withers  and  Fair- 
mount  Derby. 

In  the  Elmendorf  cemetery  is  a  large  bronze  statue  of  Fair  Play  which,  even 
as  an  aged  stallion  in  1919,  brought  $100,000.  Fair  Play,  by  Hastings-Fairy 
Gold,  sired  Man  o'  War.  In  front  of  the  statue  are  the  graves  of  Fair  Play  and 
of  Mahubah,  dam  of  Man  o'  War,  with  huge  gravestones  bearing  wreaths. 
Mahubah,  by  Imp.  Rock  Sand,  was  the  dam  of  Fair  Play's  greatest  sons,  the 
peerless  Man  o'  War,  often  called  a  super-horse,  and  of  My  Play,  a  pronounced 
success  on  the  turf  and  at  stud. 

The  Paris  Pike  (US  27-68)  continues  to  (35)  GREENTREE  (R),  0.6  m.,  a 
750-acre  breeding  farm  owned  by  Mrs.  Payne  Whitney.  The  Whitney  colors, 
white  and  black,  are  used  on  buildings  that  dot  the  estate  and  on  fences  that 
divide  the  farm  into  fields  and  paddocks. 

Mrs.  Whitney's  Imp.  St.  Germans,  a  French  horse  foaled  in  1921,  spends  the 
sunset  of  his  life  in  a  pasture  all  his  own  with  his  companions,  Lum  and  Abner, 
two  bewhiskered  goats.  St.  Germans  is  the  sire  of  Twenty  Grand,  holder  of  the 


2l6  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

record  (2:01%)  for  the  Kentucky  Derby  (1931)  and  the  Churchill  Downs  three- 
year-old  record  for  that  distance.  Twenty  Grand  in  1930  also  set  the  record 
(1:36%)  of  the  Kentucky  Jockey  Club  Stakes,  a  one-mile  race  for  two-year-olds 
run  in  the  fall.  St.  Germans  also  sired  St.  Brideaux,  and -Bold  Venture,  winner 
(1936)  of  the  Kentucky  Derby  (2:03%)  and  of  (1936)  the  Preakness  (1:59). 
Also  at  stud  here  is  Questionnaire,  by  King-Miss  Puzzle,  foaled  in  1927. 

Left  from  US  27-68  on  Ironworks  Pike,  now  the  main  route. 
At  13 A  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  George  Widener  farm  road. 

Right  on  the  Widener  road;  at  0.1  m.  is  back  entrance  (L)  of  (36)  DIXIANA 
FARM,  one  of  the  showplaces  of  the  Bluegrass,  owned  by  Charles  T.  Fisher, 
manufacturer  of  motor  car  "bodies  by  Fisher,"  who  acquired  it  after  the  death 
of  James  Cox  Brady  (1882-1928)  of  New  York.  The  1,100-acre  estate  is  a 
prominent  Kentucky  nursery,  known  at  a  much  earlier  date  as  the  Hamilton 
Stud,  and  was  once  part  of  the  13,000-acre  estate  of  James  B.  Haggin.  Maj. 
B.  G.  Thomas,  who  once  owned  it,  named  the  place  Dixiana  in  1877  in  honor 
of  his  favorite  brood  mare.  Mr.  Fisher  has  a  fine  stable  of  running  horses.  In 
addition  to  numerous  modern  barns,  the  farm  has  an  excellent  one-mile  training 
track. 

Sweep  All,  Peter  Hastings  (sold),  and  High  Time  (dead)  lived  in  the  small 
barn  (R)  near  the  office.  The  stable  hands  insist  that  when  any  performer  sired 
by  High  Time  was  winning  a  race,  he  sensed  it  and  kicked  and  "raised  sand." 
Sweep  All,  Peter  Hastings,  and  High  Time  were  all  excellent  performers  on  the 
turf  but  their  fame  rests  chiefly  upon  their  value  at  stud.  High  Time  was  for 
years  a  steady  producer  of  winners,  among  them  the  great  gelding,  Sarazon,  one 
of  the  fastest  thoroughbreds  that  ever  came  up,  and  the  American  which  defeated 
Epinard,  leading  French  performer  of  his  day.  Mata  Hari,  a  filly  adjudged  smart 
enough  to  be  sent  in  the  Kentucky  Derby  of  her  year  (1934)  is  one  of  the  leading 
brood  mares  at  Dixiana.  Near  by  are  the  large  barns  where  24  American  Stand- 
ard Bred  horses,  each  a  familiar  figure  among  the  winners  of  its  class  in  the  show 
rings,  lived  until  1938,  when  the  stables  were  broken  up. 

At  1.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  Russell  Cave  Pike;  L.  on  this  road. 

On  Russell  Cave  Pike  opposite  the  Junction  is  (37)  MT.  BRILLIANT 
(private),  a  two-story  brick  mansion  built  in  1792,  home  of  Louis  Lee  Haggin. 
The  wide  veranda  is  noteworthy  for  its  four  massive  Doric  columns. 

Left  from  the  Dixiana  front  entrance  on  Russell  Cave  Pike  to  a  junction  with 
Huffman  Mill  Pike,  1.8  m.  Right  on  Huffman  Mill  Pike  3.3  m.  to  (38)  FAR- 
AWAY FARM  (R)  (open  7:30-4:00),  owned  by  Samuel  Riddle.  This  is  the 
home  of  Man  o'  War  (1917-  ),  greatest  thoroughbred  race  horse  of  his  day 
and  by  some  authorities  ranked  the  greatest  native  performer  of  all  time  in 
this  country.  Man  o'  War  was  by  Fair  Play,  dam  Mahubah.  Bred  by  August 
Belmont,  he  was  put  for  sale  as  a  yearling  at  the  annual  Saratoga  auction  and  bid 
in  by  Mr.  Riddle  for  $5,000.  As  a  performer,  he  was  started  21  times  and  won 
19  stakes  and  purses  and  the  match  race  at  Windsor,  Ontario,  in  1920  against 
Sir  Barton.  Man  o'  War  is  a  strapping  fellow,  in  color  a  dark  chestnut.  He 
was  not  raced  after  completion  of  his  season  as  a  three-year-old.  Insured  for 
$500,000,  he  was  put  at  stud  on  Mr.  Riddle's  estate,  where  he  is  constantly  under 
guard.  Man  o'  War  has  sired  236  horses  (November  1938)  and  of  these  176 
have  been  winners.  Around  $2,500,000  has  been  won  by  his  get,  and  the  great 
sire  took  approximately  $250,000  on  the  turf,  in  only  two  seasons  at  a  time  when 
purses  were  not  so  large  as  today. 

American  Flag,  at  stud  here,  is  one  of  the  several  high  class  thoroughbred  race 
horses  sired  by  Man  o'  War.  He  was  campaigned  in  the  East,  where  he  won  a 
substantial  sum  in  stakes  and  purses.  War  Admiral,  foaled  and  bred  here,  is,  per- 
haps, the  greatest  son  of  Man  o'  War.  Lightly  campaigned  and  running  not  a 
little  green  as  a  two-year-old,  he  became  the  recognized  champion  of  the  three- 
year-olds  (1937),  when  he  joined  the  select  circle  whose  few  members  have  won 


LEXINGTON  217 

in  succession  the  Kentucky  Derby,  the  Preakness,  and  the  Belmont.  In  winning 
the  Belmont,  he  shaded  his  sire's  time.  War  Admiral,  a  five-year-old  in  1939, 
was  retired  after  fulfilling  a  final  engagement  in  November  1938. 

Russell  Cave  Pike  continues  southward  from  its  junction  with  Huffman  Mill 
Rd.  to  the  junction  with  the  Ironworks  Pike,  2.4  m. 

The  Ironworks  Pike  continues  northwestward  (straight  ahead)  from 
the  junction  with  the  Widener  farm  road,  crossing  Russell  Cave  Pike, 
at  13 A  m.,  the  junction  with  the  side  tour  to  the  home  of  Man  o'  War. 
Northwest  of  the  junction  with  Russell  Cave  Pike,  the  Ironworks  Pike 
passes  the  entrance  (R),  152  m.,  to  (39)  CASTLETON,  1,132  acres, 
owned  by  David  M.  Look.  This  was  once  the  estate  of  the  Castleman 
family,  which  earlier  was  known  as  Cabell's  Dale,  home  of  John  Breck- 
inridge  (1760-1806),  sponsor  of  the  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1798-99, 
and  U.S.  Senator  from  Kentucky,  1801-05.  Breckinridge  left  the 
Senate  to  become  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  and  died  in 
office. 

Beyond  the  two-story,  green-shuttered,  white  brick  house,  built  in 
1806,  is  a  large  yellow  barn  occupied  by  Standard  Bred  horses,  and 
in  a  building  near  by  are  the  stables  of  Castleton's  stallions:  Guy  Cas- 
tleton,  Spencer,  Rutherford,  Schuyler,  Lee  Tide,  and  Moran.  Among 
the  great  winners  foaled  and  bred  at  Castleton  were  Colin,  Domino, 
Commando,  Peter  Pan,  Pennant,  and  numerous  others.  Colin,  a  brown 
by  Commando-Imp.  Postorella  foaled  in  1905,  raced  in  the  colors  of 
James  R.  Keene,  and,  although  there  were  some  shifty  horses  in  his 
day,  none  ever  got  near  him.  He  was  retired,  an  unbeaten  winner  of 
$181,610.  At  stud  Colin  failed  to  measure  up  to  expectations.  Domino, 
also  a  brown,  by  Himyar-Mannie  Gray,  was  foaled  in  1891.  During 
his  brief  career  on  the  turf,  his  winnings  totaled  $193,550.  The  Negro 
who  proudly  exhibits  the  horses  to  visitors  sometimes  sleeps  in  the  barn. 
He  is  roused  promptly  at  4  A.M.  by  a  disturbing  clatter.  The  culprit 
is  a  spotted  pony,  rattling  his  empty  bucket  until  breakfast  is  served. 

At  15.8  m.  on  Ironworks  Pike  is  a  junction  with  the  Newtown  Pike. 

Right  on  Newtown  Pike  to  (40)  the  WALNUT  HALL  STOCK  FARM  (L), 
0.9  m.;  L.  through  the  farm.  This  estate  of  3,500  acres,  having  the  appearance 
of  a  large  well-kept  park,  is  one  of  the  world's  foremost  trotting  horse  nurseries. 
The  farm,  established  in  1892  by  Lamon  V.  Harkness  of  Pittsburgh,  is  owned 
by  Dr.  Ogden  M.  Edwards.  Near  the  large  Colonial-style  yellow  brick  residence 
(Walnut  Hall)  stands  the  main  barn.  Peter  Volo,  which  died  in  1937  at  the 
ripe  age  of  25,  was  at  stud  here.  His  son  Protector,  sold  for  $1,200  and  later 
repurchased  for  $25,000,  heads  the  stud.  Volomite  and  Guy  Abbey  are  also  on 
this  farm.  On  the  morning  of  a  race,  when  the  stable  routine  is  changed,  the 
horses,  like  those  in  other  racing  stables,  become  very  restless.  In  the  cemetery, 
where  11  famous  horses  are  buried,  is  a  life-size  statue  of  Guy  Axworthy. 

The  Walnut  Hall  Farm  road  turns  L.  and  reaches  a  junction  with  the  Iron- 
works Pike,  3.4  m.  Left  on  Ironworks  Pike. 

At  4.3  m.  is  (41)  SPINDLETOP  (R),  owned  by  Mrs.  M.  F.  Yount,  with 
826  acres  of  almost  treeless  land.  The  palatial  residence  was  built  in  1936.  The 
stable  houses  some  beautiful  American  saddle  horses,  among  them  Beau  Peavine 
and  Chief  of  Spindletop.  The  latter  was  one  of  the  winners  of  the  $10,000 
award  annually  offered  by  the  Kentucky  State  Fair  for  championship  form  in  the 


2l8  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

three-  and  five-gaited  classes.  These  two  sires  are  Standard  Bred  American 
Saddle  Horses,  perhaps  the  most  notable  breed  of  its  kind  of  purely  American 
origin.  These  horses  are  bred  for  gaits  and  action  from  beautiful  and  enduring 
foundation  stock. 

Southeast  of  the  entrance  to  Spindletop,  Ironworks  Pike  reaches  its  junction, 
52  m.,  with  Newtown  Pike,  the  point  at  which  the  loop  to  Walnut  Hall  Farm 
and  Spindletop  started. 

The  main  route  turns  L.  from  Ironworks  Pike  on  Newtown  Pike. 

On  the  Newtown  Pike  is  COLDSTREAM  STUD  (42),  18.5  m.,  bor- 
dered by  a  limestone  wall  four  miles  long.  The  1,8 5 5 -acre  estate  (R) 
has  been  owned  since  1915  by  C.  B.  Shaffer.  The  main  barn  remodeled 
from  a  dairy,  contains  32  stalls  for  thoroughbreds,  including  Bull  Dog, 
sire  of  many  winning  performers.  There  is  a  tradition  that  Price  Mc- 
Grath,  the  first  owner,  hid  a  fortune  in  the  walls  of  the  barn,  but  search 
has  not  revealed  it. 

Newtown  Pike  continues  south  to  a  junction  with  Main  St.  in  Lex- 
ington; L.  on  Main  St.  to  the  Zero  Milestone,  22.5  m. 


HORSE  FARM  TOUR  2 

Lexington  to  Lexington,  18  m.;  US  60,  Rice  Pike,  Elkchester  Pike,  Old  Frankfort 

Pike. 

Four-lane   concrete  highway  to   Rice  Pike;   asphalt  roads  from  Rice  Pike  into 

Lexington. 

West  on  US  60  from  Zero  Milestone  (Main  and  Walnut  Sts.  at  the 
Union  Station  Viaduct)  on  Main  St.  to  Jefferson  St.;  L.  on  Jefferson 
St.  over  Viaduct  to  W.  High  St.;  R.  on  W.  High  St.,  which  becomes 
Versailles  Pike  (US  60). 

On  US  60  is  (R)  CALUMET  FARM  (43),  4.7  m.  (visiting  hours 
9-4  throughout  year),  originally  known  as  Fairland  when  owned  by 
Joseph  W.  Bailey,  Senator  from  Texas.  Calumet  Farm  was  the  home 
of  W.  M.  Wright,  whose  fortune  was  made  in  Calumet  baking  powder. 
It  is  now  (1939)  owned  by  his  son,  Warren  Wright  of  Chicago. 
Calumet  is  important  as  a  stud,  with  such  successful  younger  sires  as 
Hadagal,  Bostonian,  and  Chance  Play.  Hadagal,  a  bay  by  Imp.  Sir 
Galahad  III — out  of  Imp.  Erne,  foaled  in  1931 — was  a  stakes  winner 
at  two,  and  as  a  three-year-old  broke  the  track  record  to  win  the  Gov- 
ernor Green  handicap  at  1^  miles.  Bostonian,  a  black  by  Broomstick- 
Yankee  Maid,  was  foaled  in  1924.  He  was  raced  only  two  seasons,  yet 
won  a  number  of  stakes,  including  the  Preakness.  Chance  Play,  a 
chestnut  horse  by  Fair  Play-Imp.  Quelle  Chance  and  a  half  brother  to 
Man  o'  War,  was  foaled  in  1923.  His  winnings  totaled  nearly  $138,000 
and  among  his  get  are  such  sterling  performers  as  At  Play,  Grand  Slam, 
Good  Gamble,  and  Psychic  Bid.  Galsum,  a  gelding,  Nellie  Flag,  a  filly, 
and  Nellie  Morse,  dam  of  Nellie  Flag  and  Count  Morse,  are  also  housed 
at  Calumet.  Nellie  Morse,  filly  winner  of  the  Preakness,  was  cam- 
paigned by  Bud  Fisher,  creator  of  Mutt  and  Jeff.  The  1,000-acre 


LEXINGTON  2IQ 

Calumet  Farm,  its  color  motif  white  and  red,  was  purchased  by  the 
senior  Wright  in  1924  in  the  hope  of  breeding  a  winner  of  the  Hamble- 
tonian — the  most  desired  stake  in  the  harness  horse  field.  He  won  this 
stake  in  1931.  The  air-conditioned  stallion  barn  with  classic  portico 
and  turret  has  a  cork  floor  and  handsome  woodwork.  Behind  the  barn 
is  an  outdoor  track.  There  is  an  estate  house,  18  barns,  and  cottages 
for  employees.  In  November  1938,  there  were  three  stallions,  65 
mares,  and  30  weanlings  in  the  stables. 

KEENELAND  RACE  COURSE  (44),  on  US  60  at  6.4  m.  (R),  held 
its  inaugural  meeting  in  1936.  This  track,  which  supplants  Lexington's 
century-old  Association  Course,  is  patterned  after  the  great  English  race 
courses  where  the  chief  considerations  are  the  sport  of  racing  and  the 
improvement  of  thoroughbred  stock.  The  grandstand  seats  2,500  peo- 
ple. The  l%6-mile  oval  track  here  is  considered  one  of  the  fastest  in 
America.  In  the  three-story  stone  clubhouse  are  photographic  murals 
by  the  best  photographers  of  the  Bluegrass,  in  the  stag-room,  on  the 
second  floor,  are  Currier  and  Ives  lithographs  of  events  on  the  tracks. 
The  offices  and  facilities  of  Keeneland,  including  pari-mutuel  wagering, 
a  restaurant,  bars,  and  private  dining  rooms,  are  all  in  the  clubhouse. 

There  is  a  Currier  lithograph  of  Lexington,  the  great  thoroughbred 
stallion  of  the  Bluegrass  which  held  the  running  record  of  four  miles 
at  7:19^4.  As  a  performer  Lexington  was  matchless,  and  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  century  the  turf's  most  tempting  prizes  fell  largely  to  mem- 
bers of  his  family.  He  was  light  bay  of  15  hands,  3  inches,  by  Boston, 
himself  the  greatest  performer  of  his  day;  dam,  Alice  Carneal,  she  by 
Imp.  Sharpedon.  He  was  bred  by  Dr.  Elisha  Warfield,  master  of  the 
meadows  near  Lexington,  and  was  named  Darley.  Richard  Ten 
Broeck  acquired  and  renamed  him  Lexington.  A  horse  of  stout  heart, 
superb  muscular  development  and  action,  Lexington  never  broke  down, 
but  shortly  after  his  last  race,  in  which  he  defeated  Lecompte,  his  eyes 
failed,  and  Mr.  Ten  Broeck  sent  him  to  Kentucky,  where  he  made  his 
first  season  at  W.  F.  Harper's  place,  near  Midway.  His  get  won  nearly 
$1,000,000,  despite  the  War  between  the  States  during  his  day  at  stud. 
For  14  consecutive  years,  and  in  all  16,  he  led  American  thoroughbred 
sires  in  earnings  of  their  get,  a  record  never  equaled.  Lexington's 
health  was  excellent  until  his  death  in  1875.  Buried  in  his  paddock, 
his  bones  were  later  placed  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Washing- 
ton, B.C. 

The  Keeneland  Race  Course  occupies  about  150  acres  of  the  old 
Keene  Place,  founded  on  a  tract  of  approximately  8,000  acres  granted 
by  Patrick  Henry,  then  Governor  of  Virginia,  to  his  kinsman,  Francis 
Keene. 

West  of  the  race  course  is  the  junction  with  Rice  Pike,  7.1  m.;  R. 
from  US  60  on  Rice  Pike  to  a  junction  with  Van  Meter  Pike,  8.7  m.; 
L.  on  Van  Meter  Pike  to  a  junction  with  Elkchester  Pike,  9.9  m.;  R. 
on  Elkchester  Pike  to  a  junction  with  the  Old  Frankfort  Pike,  11.7  m.; 
R.  on  the  Old  Frankfort  Pike. 


220  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

IDLE  HOUR  FARM  (45),  12.5  m.  (open  9  AM.-3:30  P.M.;,  owned 
by  Col.  E.  R.  Bradley,  covers  1,300  acres  on  both  sides  of  the  Old 
Frankfort  Pike.  Miles  of  white  fences  divide  the  farm  into  paddocks 
and  pastures.  An  underground  passageway  connects  the  paddocks  on 
each  side  of  the  pike.  White  and  green,  the  racing  colors  of  Bradley's 
horses,  give  the  many  buildings  a  neat  and  striking  appearance.  The 
private  race  course  was  the  scene  of  an  annual  Charity  Day  program 
for  the  benefit  of  Kentucky's  orphans.  The  farm  has  a  tiny  Catholic 
chapel,  a  solarium  for  yearlings,  a  large  brick -residence,  and  numerous 
barns.  Colonel  Bradley  had  four  Kentucky  Derby  winners — Behave 
Yourself,  1921  (2:04y5);  Bubbling  Over,  1926  (2:03%);  Burgoo 
King,  1932  (2:05%);  and  Broker's  Tip,  1933  (2:06y5). 

Behave  Yourself,  a  big  gangling  colt,  was  a  surprise  winner.  Colonel 
Bradley  sent  Behave  Yourself  and  his  crack  colt,  Black  Servant,  his 
chief  dependence,  to  the  post.  Black  Servant  took  the  track  and  led 
until,  half  way  down  the  home  stretch,  Behave  Yourself  came  along 
to  challenge  and  finally  to  nose  out  his  stable  mate  in  a  whipping  finish. 
As  a  green  two-year-old  Bubbling  Over  scored  in  his  maiden  effort  at 
nearly  50-1,  by  coming  from  behind  down  the  home  stretch.  Burgoo 
King,  whose  total  winnings  are  well  above  $100,000,  was  by  Bubbling 
Over.  Broker's  Tip,  by  Black  Toney,  won  the  Derby  by  a  nose  over 
Head  Play. 

To  the  left  of  the  residence  are  the  stables  where  Burgoo  King  and 
Bubbling  Over  are  kept,  together  with  such  racers  as  Blue  Larkspur, 
Balladier,  and  Black  Servant.  Blue  Larkspur,  a  bay  by  Black  Servant- 
Blossom  Time,  foaled  in  1926,  won  $272,000  in  the  short  time  he  stood 
training.  Now  at  stud,  he  is  sending  some  fine  performers  to  the  races. 
Black  Servant,  Black  Toney's  best  son,  dam  Imp.  Padula,  was  foaled 
in  1918.  He  was  an  excellent  thoroughbred  race  horse  in  fast  company, 
and  has  now  replaced  his  sire  at  stud.  Black  Toney,  foaled  in  1911 
and  head  of  the  stud  for  so  many  years,  died  in  1938.  He  was  a  thor- 
oughbred by  Peter  Pan  and  was  himself  a  great  race  horse.  Black 
Toney  sent  winner  after  winner  to  the  races,  among  them  Black  Gold, 
winner  of  the  Kentucky  Derby  in  1924,  Black  Maria,  Black  Servant 
and  Miss  Jemima. 

It  is  said  of  Colonel  Bradley,  who  purchased  the  estate  in  1906,  that 
the  name  of  any  employee  who  dies  in  his  service  is  never  removed 
from  the  payroll  as  long  as  there  is  a  surviving  dependent.  Since  most 
of  the  thoroughbreds  bearing  the  Bradley  colors  were  named  with 
words  starting  with  "B,"  his  string  is  known  everywhere  as  the  "B" 
stables. 

The  Old  Frankfort  Pike  continues  eastward  into  Lexington  over  the 
viaduct  to  Jefferson  St.;  L.  on  Jefferson  St.  to  Main  St.;  R.  on  Main 
St.  to  the  Zero  Milestone,  18  m. 


PADUCAH 


Railroad  Station:  Union  Depot,  Brown  and  Caldwell  Aves.,  2  m.  from  downtown 

section,  for  Illinois  Central  R.R.;   Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  R.R.;   Gulf, 

Mobile  and  Northern  R.R.;  Nashville,  Chattanooga  and  St.  Louis  R.R.;  Paducah 

and  Illinois  R.R. 

Bus  Stations:  220  S.  Sth  St.  for  Greyhound,  C.  Ray,  and  Ohio  Lines;  Broadway 

and  2nd  St.  for  Cardinal  and  Mohawk  Lines;  Arcade  Bldg.,  Sth  and  Broadway, 

for  Southern  Limited  Line;  4th  St.  and  Kentucky  Ave.,  for  Chaudoin  Bus  Lines. 

Airport:  Cairo  Rd.  4  m.  W. ;  no  scheduled  service. 

Street  Buses:  Fare  5#. 

Taxis:  25$  and  upward;  $2  per  hour. 

Traffic  Regulations:  Right  turn  on  red  light.     Parking  restrictions  indicated  by 

signs. 

Accommodations:  Eight  hotels,  three  for  Negroes;  tourist  camps  4  m.  south  on 
US  68  and  5  m.  W.  on  US  60. 

Information  Service:  Irvin  Cobb  Hotel,  Broadway  and  6th  St. 

Radio  Station:  WPAD  (1420  kc.). 

Motion  Picture  Houses:  Three. 

Swimming:  Noble  Park,  Park  Ave.  and  28th  St.,  adm.  to  pool  25#. 

Golf:  Noble  Park  Municipal  course,  Park  Ave.  and  28th  St.,  9  holes,  greens  fee 

15$;   Lakeview   Country   Club,  4  m.   S.   on  Lovelaceville  Rd.,    18   holes,  greens 

fee  SOtf. 

Tennis:  Municipal  courts  in  Noble  Park,  entrance  28th  St.  and  Park  Ave. 

Annual  Events:  Strawberry  Festival,  movable  date  varying  with  crop  season, 
usually  early  in  June. 

PADUCAH  (326  alt.,  33,541  pop.)  is  the  seat  of  McCracken  County, 
and  the  most  consequential  port  and  distributing  center  for  the  extreme 
western  section  of  Kentucky.  It  lies  on  the  flood  plain  of  the  Ohio 
River  at  the  point  where  the  Tennessee,  pouring  down  from  the 
Southern  Highlands,  joins  the  larger  stream  before  it  goes  on  fifty 
miles  to  the  Mississippi.  Cypress  and  sycamore  trees  thrive  in  the  low, 
moist  land,  giving  Paducah  the  appearance  of  an  Old  World  town  sur- 
rounded by  rivers  and  trees. 

The  city  is  laid  out  in  a  rectangular  plan,  its  streets  running  parallel 
to  and  at  right  angles  with  shorelines  of  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee  Rivers. 
Numbered  streets,  parallel  with  the  river,  begin  at  the  waterfront  with 
1st  Street.  Except  for  Broadway  and  three  streets  named  for  Ken- 
tucky and  neighboring  States,  the  rest,  for  the  most  part,  honor  Presi- 
dents and  statesmen. 

Paducah  seems  on  first  sight  to  be  peaceful  and  unhurried;  actually 
it  is  a  rather  busy  place.  The  waterfront,  built  up  for  utility  rather 
than  beauty,  is  still  active  in  a  modest  way.  Paducah  pioneers  dis- 
covered very  early  that  in  winter  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  River 
was  usually  free  of  ice  because  of  its  warm  waters  from  the  south,  and 

221 


222  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

that  it  offered  a  winter  haven  for  Ohio  River  boats.  Today  the  left 
shore  of  the  Tennessee,  sheltered  by  a  low-lying  island  that  separates 
it  from  the  Ohio,  is  lined  with  boatyards,  fuel  storage  tanks,  and  ware- 
houses, remnants  or  expansions  of  the  once  lively  river  traffic;  and 
Paducah  is  still  the  center  of  boatbuilding  and  boat  repairing  for  the 
Ohio  Valley. 

Farther  down  the  Ohio  and  extending  through  much  of  the  older 
section  of  the  city  are  the  various  factories,  the  extensive  railroad 
shops — five  lines  serve  Paducah — and  the  vast  tobacco  warehouses 
which  have  grown  up  in  this  principal  dark-tobacco  market  of  the  coun- 
try. Four  blocks  inland  from  the  river  is  the  business  center  of  brick 
structures,  largely  dating  from  the  last  century,  packed  into  a  few 
blocks  along  Broadway  and  4th  Street.  Commerce  has  invaded  the 
old  residential  section  in  the  downtown  areas,  leaving  the  homes  and 
lawns  looking  bedraggled  and  forlorn. 

The  newer  homes  have  reached  out  over  the  flood  plain  into  higher 
ground  back  of  the  river,  from  which  the  eastern  foothills  of  the  Ozarks 
in  Illinois,  lying  low  beyond  the  bend  in  the  Ohio,  are  visible  on  clear 
days.  Playgrounds  and  parks  are  scattered  over  Paducah's  nine  square 
miles,  and  to  the  south  are  small  farms  devoted  to  livestock,  tobacco, 
dairying,  and  berry  culture.  Peach  and  apple  orchards  front  the  many 
State  and  Federal  highways  that  lead  into  the  city. 

The  Negroes  represent  about  20  percent  of  the  population  of  Pa- 
ducah. They  have  their  own  schools,  churches,  and  social  life. 
Friendly  co-operation  between  the  races  is  maintained  in  all  business 
and  labor  relations.  The  older  generation  of  Negroes  engages  in  the 
unskilled  labor  of  various  Paducah  industries.  Among  the  younger 
generation  are  many  skilled  mechanics  and  tradesmen  who  enjoy  the 
better  economic  conditions  given  by  industrial  training,  and  the  Negro 
students  of  Paducah  are  taught  by  members  of  their  own  race,  in 
Negro  public  schools  and  the  West  Kentucky  Industrial  College  for 
Negroes.  The  more  than  90  percent  Negro  illiteracy  of  1865  dwindled 
to  less  than  4  percent  in  1930. 

In  1778,  when  George  Rogers  Clark  advanced  upon  the  British  mili- 
tary posts  in  the  Old  Northwest,  his  last  base  before  striking  into  the 
wilderness  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  River.  In  1795  the  State 
of  Virginia  gave  Clark,  in  compensation  for  his  services,  72,962  acres 
of  land  along  the  southern  shore  of  the  Ohio  between  the  Tennessee 
and  Mississippi  Rivers.  Though  claimed  by  Virginia  under  its  Colonial 
Charter  from  the  British  Crown,  this  area  was  not  included  in  the  agree- 
ments by  which  the  rights  of  the  Indians  to  the  balance  of  Kentucky 
had  been  upheld,  and  Clark  derived  no  benefit  from  the  grant;  it  was 
still  the  property  of  the  Chickasaw  Indians.  On  October  19,  1818,  a 
special  commission  headed  by  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson  and  Gov.  Isaac 
Shelby  negotiated  a  settlement  known  as  the  Jackson  Purchase,  follow- 
ing which  the  Chickasaw  evacuated  the  region  and  moved  into  northern 
Mississippi. 


PADUCAH  223 

News  of  the  impending  purchase  spread,  and  in  1817  a  migration  to 
the  area  began.  Settlers  poured  in  by  flatboat  and  wagon  from  North 
Carolina,  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Pennsylvania,  and  Kentucky  settlements 
already  established  for  some  years.  James  and  William  Pore  built  the 
first  log  cabin  in  Paducah  (then  known  as  Pekin)  at  the  foot  of  Broad- 
way. James  Davis  who  came  with  his  family  down  the  Licking  River 
from  Harrison  County,  Kentucky,  to  Cincinnati,  then  by  way  of  the 
Ohio  to  Paducah,  built  a  hut  at  the  northwest  corner  of  First  and 
Broadway,  and  later  erected  a  house  where  Riverside  Hospital  now 
stands. 

When  George  Rogers  Clark  died  in  1818,  his  claim  passed  into  the 
hands  of  his  brother  William,  of  the  famous  Lewis-Clark  expedition 
along  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  Rivers.  William  Clark,  who  was 
made  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  Missouri  (1822-1836),  re- 
vived his  brother's  claim  and  in  1827  laid  out  the  town  site,  and 
named  it  for  his  Chickasaw  friend,  Chief  Paduke.  Paducah  was  incor- 
porated as  a  village  in  1830,  and  as  a  city  in  1856. 

The  growth  of  Paducah  has  been  slow,  continuous,  and  at  no  time 
spectacular.  In  early  steamboating  days  its  proximity  to  four  great 
navigable  rivers  made  it  convenient  for  the  transshipping  of  goods  and 
passengers.  This  fact  lured  merchants  and  business  men  to  the  new 
town.  The  first  store,  in  which  furs  were  used  for  money,  was  erected 
in  1826  at  the  northeast  corner  of  what  is  now  First  and  Broadway. 
Opposite  this  store  Albert  Hays  in  the  same  year  built  the  first  frame 
house.  Although  it  was  not  a  hotel,  the  three  rooms,  considered  elabo- 
rate in  that  day,  often  housed  traders  overnight. 

When  the  logs  began  to  come  down  from  the  Tennessee  and  Cumber- 
land Valleys  during  the  mid-nineteenth  century,  there  arose  a  thriving 
lumber  industry,  with  its  attendant  mills  and  factories.  As  this  indus- 
try declined,  its  place  was  taken  by  the  handling  and  transshipment 
of  agricultural  products  down  the  river  to  the  seaports,  and  of  goods 
from  the  Atlantic  Coast  and  from  Europe  destined  for  the  interior 
towns  and  cities  of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  Valleys. 

Because  of  its  location  Paducah  was  a  strategic  point  during  the  War 
between  the  States.  For  a  brief  time  in  the  earlier  months  of  the  war, 
Kentucky,  striving  to  be  neutral,  served  as  a  no  man's  land  between 
North  and  South.  Both  sides  rushed  their  armies  into  this  area,  for 
mastery  over  it  would  give  the  victor  control  of  western  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  and  a  good-sized  portion  of  Alabama.  In  September  1861, 
General  Grant  took  military  possession  of  Paducah.  Thereafter,  until 
the  close  of  military  operations  in  the  West,  the  city  was  one  of  the 
important  depots  of  supply  that  linked  the  farms  and  storehouses  of 
the  North  with  the  Union  Armies  in  the  field. 

During  this  occupation  by  Federal  troops,  Gen.  Lew  Wallace,  later 
the  author  of  Ben  Hur,  for  a  time  commanded  the  garrison.  In  1864, 
after  the  main  theater  of  action  had  been  moved  southward,  Gen. 
Nathan  Forrest,  Confederate  cavalry  leader,  trying  desperately  to  turn 


224  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

back  the  Northern  invasion  by  destroying  Union  Army  bases,  struck 
savagely  at  Fort  Anderson,  which  controlled  the  Ohio  River  from  its 
position  at  the  west  end  of  5th  Street.  The  attack,  known  as  the  Battle 
of  Paducah,  was  from  the  south  along  Lovelaceville  Road  and  down 
Broadway  toward  the  river.  After  burning  Union  supplies  stored  along 
the  river  front,  Forrest  retired.  In  his  report  to  President  Jefferson 
Davis,  he  explained  that  he  withdrew  because  of  an  epidemic  of  small- 
pox in  the  city,  rather  than  because  of  the  formidable  nature  of  the 
Union  entrenchments.  This  raid  ended  operations  in  western  Kentucky 
for  the  remainder  of  the  war. 

After  the  war  the  city  resumed  its  customary  place  in  river  transpor- 
tation. The  great  steamboating  era  that  continued  in  its  prime  to  about 
1880  gave  life  to  its  shipbuilding  and  ship  repair  industries,  and  those 
depending  upon  lumbering  and  farming  adjusted  themselves  to  the 
dwindling  of  the  lumber  trade  and  the  expansion  of  agriculture.  South- 
ward extension  of  rail  lines  connecting  the  Great  Lakes  region  with  the 
Gulf  Coast,  which  took  place  shortly  after  the  conclusion  of  the  War 
between  the  States,  made  Paducah  an  important  river-and-rail  junction 
point,  and  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  located  its  locomotive  rebuilding 
and  repair  shops  in  the  city.  Revival  of  river  transportation  since  1920 
has  brought  about  the  establishment,  on  the  ice-free  Paducah  shore  of 
the  Tennessee,  of  a  Government  plant  for  the  building  and  repair  of 
boats,  barges,  and  other  river  equipment  used  by  the  Inland  Waterways 
Corporation.  Other  important  industries  that  have  survived  from  early 
days  or  have  developed  since  the  War  between  the  States  are  the  manu- 
facture of  textile  machinery  and  textiles,  garments,  hosiery,  leather 
goods,  furniture,  barrels,  and  sundry  other  products  depending  on  a 
plentiful  supply  of  workable  timber.  The  volume  of  Paducah  industry 
is  indicated  by  bank  clearings  that  average  about  $80,000,000  a  year. 

Paducah  is  the  center  of  dark  tobacco  growing.  The  tobacco  in  "the 
Purchase,"  known  to  the  trade  as  "dark  fire-cured,"  is  brought  to  the 
loose-leaf  floors,  where  it  is  auctioned  off  chiefly  for  the  export  market. 
A  steady  movement  of  livestock  from  the  Jackson  Purchase  country  to 
Middle  West  packing  houses  goes  through  the  local  yards,  and  the  ship- 
ping of  fruit — apples,  peaches,  and  strawberries — is  lucrative  in  Pa- 
ducah. The  localized  cultivation  and  co-operative  shipping  of  a  straw- 
berry known  as  Dixie  Aroma  is  the  basis  for  the  Strawberry  Festival, 
held  usually  in  June.  Business  men  and  farmers  alike  join  in  the  fes- 
tivities, that  usually  include  a  street  parade. 

Like  other  river  towns,  Paducah  has  had  its  battles  with  floods.  The 
most  damaging  was  the  Ohio  River  flood  of  January  1937,  which  swept 
with  full  fury  over  low-lying  Paducah.  The  flood  crest  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  reached  before  that  of  the  Ohio,  acted  as  a  dam  to  retard 
and  spread  out  the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  which  backed  over  the  low 
grounds  in  the  vicinity  of  Union  Station,  and  ran  through  the  entire 
downtown  area.  Water  rose  into  the  elevated  first  floor  of  the  City 
Hall.  Government  barges  steamed  up  Broadway  and  rescued  refugees 
from  the  second  story  of  the  Irvin  Cobb  Hotel.  Stocks  of  goods,  trans- 


PADUCAH  225 

ferred  to  supposedly  safe  altitudes,  were  soaked  by  oily  waters.  Ninety- 
three  percent  of  the  buildings  in  the  city  were  made  untenable.  Pa- 
ducah's  damage  bill  totaled  $30,000,000.  Prompt  relief  work,  however, 
reduced  disease  to  a  minimum,  and  by  midsummer  of  1937  few  visible 
effects  of  the  disaster  remained. 

Irvin  S.  Cobb  was  born  at  Paducah  in  1876,  and  up  to  the  age  of 
17  was  a  shorthand  reporter,  a  contributor  to  comic  weeklies,  and  a 
reporter  on  a  local  paper.  At  19  he  edited  the  Paducah  Daily  News. 
He  was  in  the  town  off  and  on,  and  from  1901  to  1904  served  as  man- 
aging editor  of  the  Paducah  News  Democrat.  The  first  collection  of 
his  Judge  Priest  stories,  Old  Judge  Priest,  was  published  in  1915;  the 
last  volume,  Judge  Priest  Turns  Detective,  in  1936.  The  list  of  his 
writings  is  too  long  for  mention,  but  in  1922  he  won  the  O.  Henry 
Award  for  the  best  short  story  of  that  year;  has  been  starred  and  fea- 
tured in  movies;  wrote  and  collaborated  in  plays;  and  is  a  Chevalier 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor  (France,  1918). 

The  New  York  Times,  reporting  a  movement  in  August  1938  to  name 
a  bridge  across  the  Ohio  River  for  Cobb,  printed  the  following  char- 
acteristic comment: 

There  is  a  brass  marker  in  the  sidewalk  before  the  house  where  he  was  born 
sixty-two  years  ago.  A  cigar  has  been  named  for  him,  a  beauty  shop,  a  barber 
shop.  Even  a  Kentucky  mint  julep  honors  Irvin  S.  Cobb. 

This  son  of  Paducah  has  sometimes  been  cited  as  an  authority  on  different 
kinds  of  alcoholic  beverages.  To  the  Distillers  Code  Authority,  back  in  the  NRA 
days,  he  gave  this  description  of  corn  liquor:  "It  smells  like  gangrene  starting  in 
a  mildewed  silo ;  it  tastes  like  the  wrath  to  come,  and  when  you  absorb  a  deep 
swig  of  it  you  have  all  the  sensations  of  having  swallowed  a  lighted  kerosene 
lamp.  A  sudden  violent  jolt  of  it  has  been  known  to  stop  the  victim's  watch,  snap 
both  his  suspenders  and  crack  his  glass  eye  right  across — all  in  the  same  motion." 

POINTS  OF  INTEREST 

Much  of  Paducah 's  early  history  was  made  within  an  area  of  four  or 
five  squares  in  either  direction  from  the  Ohio  river  front.  Poorly  made, 
poorly  placed  markers  and  crumbling  old  buildings  do  not  tell  a  great 
deal  about  the  city's  past,  and  sites  are  not  always  definite.  The  best- 
informed  people  therefore  usually  say  "about  here,"  and  point  with  a 
moving  finger  to  places  where  great  events  happened. 

1.  The  SITE  OF  CLARK'S  LANDING,  Ohio  River  shore  and  Ken- 
tucky Ave.,  is  recorded  by  a  sidewalk  marker.     Local  tradition  has 
fixed  this  as  the  point  where  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  after  leaving 
his  base  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  (Louisville),  paused  to  reorganize  his 
forces  for  their  successful  campaign  in  the  Illinois  wilderness.     Clark's 
journal,  however,  seems  to  indicate  encampment  on  Tennessee  Island, 
visible  offshore. 

2.  The  GRANT  MARKER,  1st  St.  and  Broadway,  designates  the 
place  where  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  landed  his  Union  forces  in  the  fall  of 


226  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

1861  and  proclaimed  martial  law.    Paducah  then  became  the  base  for 
extensive  Union  operations. 

3.  The  CONFEDERATE  FLAG  MARKER,  3rd  St.  between  Broad- 
way and  Kentucky  Ave.,  is  a  sidewalk  slab  telling  that  here,  early  in 
the  summer  of  1861,  was  unfurled  the  first  Confederate  flag  publicly 
shown  in  Paducah. 

4.  FORT  ANDERSON  SITE,  Trimble  St.  between  4th  and  5th  Sts., 
is  the  place  where  the  fort's  Union  guns  commanded  the  Ohio  River, 
and  Confederate  soldiers  stormed  the  breastworks  (see  History). 

5.  The  SOUTHERN  HOTEL,  NW.  corner  1st  St.  and  Broadway,  a 
three-story  brick  building,  was  one  of  the  leading  Western  hotels  in  the 
1850's.    This  old  structure,  which  shows  plainly  the  marks  of  time  and 
recurring  floods,  is  used  by  temporary  occupants  for  various  commer- 
cial purposes.    It  stands  upon  the  SITE  OF  THE  FIRST  INN,  a  log  build- 
ing erected  by  John  Field  in  1830  on  a  lot  costing  $12. 

6.  MARINE  WAYS  (open  by  permission),  101  Washington  St.,  is 
a  shipyard  where  river  craft  are  built  or  reconditioned.     Boats  to  be 
overhauled  are  floated  into  a  "cradle"  resting  on  inclined  tracks  that 
run  down  from  the  Tennessee  River  bank  into  the  water.    Resting  side- 
wise,  boats  to  be  repaired  are  carried  ashore  on  these  tracks,  and  ves- 
sels built  ashore  are  launched  down  them  from  the  cradles.    Here  are 
boats  ranging  from  the  old  "floating  palace"  to  the  newest  self-propelled 
barge  boats. 

7.  INLAND  WATERWAYS  CORPORATION  SHIPYARDS  (open 
by  permission),  Meyers  St.  between  Island  Creek  and  E.  City  Limits, 
build  and  repair  power  barges,  tow  barges,  dredges,  and  tenders. 

8.  The  OLD  BRAZELTON  HOME  (private),  NW.  corner  6th  and 
Clark  Sts.,  erected  in   1858,  was  originally  a  comfortable  two-story 
frame  structure  designed  to  house  a  large  family.     During  the  War 
between  the  States  its  ten  rooms  served  as  headquarters  for  Gen.  Lew 
Wallace,  for  a  time  commandant  of  the  Union  forces  quartered  in  the 
city.    In  it  Wallace  entertained  Grant  when  the  Union  chief  of  staff 
came  to  Paducah  on  one  of  his  wartime  visits. 

9.  The  McCRACKEN  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  6th  St.  between 
Clark  and  Washington  Sts.,  extending  to  7th  St.,  is  a  two-story  gray 
brick  building  erected  in  1857.    Judge  Bishop,  prototype  of  the  Judge 
Priest  in  Irvin  Cobb's  stories,  sat  on  the  bench  in  its  courtroom. 

10.  The  FEDERAL  BUILDING,  NW.  corner  Broadway  and  5th 
St.,  is  a  modern  building  which  replaced  the  old  post  office  structure 
(1883).    The  present  building  houses  not  only  the  post  office,  but  also 
the  Federal  District  Court  and  Government  offices. 

11.  IRVIN  COBB  HOTEL,  Broadway  and  6th  St.,  opened  in  1929 
with  Paducah-born  Irvin  S.  Cobb  as  the  first  registered  guest.     The 
fagade  is  a  combination  of  stone,  brick,  half-timbers,  stucco,  turrets 
and  broken  parapets  characteristic  of  medieval  English  castles.     The 
romantic  feeling  of  Old  English  architecture  is  carried  out  more  fully 
in  the  interior  by  the  elaborate  paneling  and  decorative  balconies  in 
the  main  lobby. 


228  CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

12.  LOOSE-LEAF  TOBACCO  SALES  FLOORS  (open,  sales  daily 
during  marketing  season),  between  Madison  and  Harrison  Sts.,  and 
extending  from  8th  to  10th  Sts.,  is  the  center  of  intense  activity  during 
the  marketing  season,  which  begins  in  mid-December  and  lasts  until 
May.    The  tobacco  crop  from  "the  Purchase,"  prepared  for  sale  on  the 
farm  by  a  process  known  as  "fire-curing,"  is  offered  on  the  floors,  and 
sold  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder.    The  yield  varies  widely,  depend- 
ing upon  the  season  and  the  prospective  market  demand  at  the  time 
of  planting. 

13.  The  FOWLER  HOME  (private),  619  Kentucky  Ave.,  a  two- 
story  house  with  15  rooms,  built  by  R.  C.  Woolfork  about  1830,  has 
been  the  home  of  the  Fowler  family  for  five  generations.     During  the 
War  between  the  States  it  served  as  headquarters  for  Col.  S.  G.  Hicks, 
of  the  Union  Army. 

14.  The  WHITFIELD  HOUSE  (private),  corner  7th  St.  and  Ken- 
tucky Ave.,  built  in  1857,  was  the  home  of  Gen.  Lloyd  Tilghman,  Con- 
federate leader.    Later  it  was  occupied  by  Sgt.  William  G.  Whitfield, 
said  to  be  the  model  for  the  Sergeant  Jimmy  Bagby  of  Irvin  Cobb's 
Back  Home  Stories. 

15.  The  LANGSTAFF  HOME  (private),  800  Broadway,  is  a  Vic- 
torian Gothic  structure  erected  in  the  1850's.    It  has  an  ornamental  iron 
porch  across  the  front,  and  a  railing  runs  around  the  roof.    The  main 
fagade  is  broken  by  the  straight  lines  of  the  entrances,  projecting  sev- 
eral feet  in  bays.     Its  otherwise  plain  wall  surfaces  are  relieved  by 
broad,  shuttered  windows  with  dog-eared  trim.     In  the  rear  of  this 
home  is  a  BOMBPROOF  SHELTER  built  by  residents  of  the  neighborhood 
in  the  1860's. 

16.  The  ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  SHOPS  (open  by  permission),  Ken- 
tucky Ave.  and   15th  St.,  are  mainly  engaged  in  rebuilding  engines. 
The  38  separate  units,  covering  21  acres,  take  care  of  all  the  repair 
work  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  south  of  the  Ohio  River.     The 
shops,  one  of  the  four  largest  industrial  plants  in  Kentucky,  represent 
an  investment  of  $11,000,000  and  sometimes  employ  as  many  as  2,500 
men. 

17.  The  TILGHMAN  STATUE,  17th  and  Madison  Sts.,  unveiled  in 
1909,  was  erected  by  members  of  the  Tilghman  family  and  by  Daugh- 
ters of  the  Confederacy  to  honor  Gen.  Lloyd  Tilghman,  C.S.A.,  who 
served  with  distinction  through  the  Mexican  War  and  later  helped 
build  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  and  other  important  lines  through 
the  South.    At  the  time  of  the  War  between  the  States,  Tilghman  or- 
ganized the  Third  Kentucky  Regiment,  C.S.A.,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
defense  of  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  Rivers.     In  1863  he  was 
killed  during  the  Battle  of  Champions'  Hill.     The  statue,  by  Henry 
Kitson,  of  Boston,  shows  him  standing  in  field  uniform. 

18.  CHIEF  PADUKE  STATUE,  18th  and  Jefferson  Sts.,  by  Lorado 
Taft,  was  given  in  1909  to  the  city  by  the  Paducah  chapter  of  the 
D.A.R.     The  statue  shows  the  Indian  chieftain  sitting,  staring  into 
distance. 


PADUCAH  229 

19.  GARLANDS  (private),  1710  Kentucky  Ave.,  is  a  two-story  yel- 
low brick  structure  erected  in  1833.  A  spacious  porch  of  much  later 
construction  almost  conceals  the  simple  lines  of  the  original  dwelling. 
This  was  the  home  of  Linn  Boyd,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives (1851-1855).  Mrs.  Boyd  (nee  Anna  L.  Rhey)  was  the  cousin 
of  President  Millard  Fillmore. 

POINTS  OF  INTEREST  IN  ENVIRONS 

Fort  Massac  State  Park  (Illinois),  10  m.  N.  on  US  45  (see  ILLINOIS  GUIDE). 
Ballard  Lakes,  29  m.;  Buried  City,  a  prehistoric  Indian  center,  33  m.  (see  Tour  2). 


Part  III 
Highways  and  Byways 


Tour  1 


(Portsmouth,    Ohio) — South    Portsmouth — Ashland — Catlettsburg — 

Paintsville — Prestonsburg — Pikeville — (Norton,  Va.) ;  US  23,  the  Mayo 

Trail. 

Ohio  Line  to  Virginia  Line,  194.6  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  in  most  places;  remainder  graveled. 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry.  parallels  route  throughout. 
Accommodations  chiefly  in  towns. 

This  route  follows  the  low  bluffs  along  the  curving  Ohio  River;  the 
Big  Sandy  Valley,  and  the  Levisa  Fork,  a  tributary  of  the  Big  Sandy 
River.  In  the  southern  section  it  passes  between  a  cordon  of  small 
hills  that  increase  in  height  toward  the  south  until,  at  the  Kentucky- 
Tennessee  border,  they  are  stopped  by  the  great  purple  and  green  wall 
of  the  Cumberland  Mountains.  Veined  by  the  river  and  its  tributary 
creeks  and  locked  on  three  sides  by  hills  and  mountains,  the  Big  Sandy 
country  was  the  last  part  of  Kentucky  to  be  surrendered  to  the  white 
man  by  Indians.  Game  abounded  here  and  salt  licks  were  plentiful; 
until  1795  this  common  hunting  ground  was  regularly  visited  by  Creeks, 
Choctaws,  and  Cherokees  from  the  South,  and  by  Shawnees,  Miamis, 
Delawares,  Wyandottes,  and  Illinois  from  the  North. 

The  rest  of  Kentucky  had  already  been  cleared  before  this  section 
was  settled,  and  in  the  1820's  population  in  the  Big  Sandy  Valley  aver- 
aged only  about  six  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile.  But  hardy,  inde- 
pendent men  continued  to  come  into  the  valley  by  way  of  the  four  gaps 
through  the  Cumberlands  and  along  the  Indian  trails,  or  down  the  Ohio 
and  up  the  Big  Sandy  Rivers  to  the  dark  hills  beyond.  These  men 
established  farms  in  open  hollows;  the  loggers  arrived  later,  to  "bring 
daylight  in  the  swamp"  and  send  millions  of  logs  floating  down  the  Big 
Sandy;  little  towns  arose  in  some  of  the  more  accessible  pockets  of  the 
region ;  and  to  the  long-sounding  toot  of  the  packets  that  plied  the  river 
was  added,  in  the  1870's,  the  clear  sharp  whistle  of  locomotives  an- 
nouncing the  coming  industrialism.  The  hills  were  tapped  for  their  min- 
eral resources  and  coal  mining  became  a  major  industry  in  the  valley; 
in  some  of  the  larger  towns  small  factories  developed.  Today  the  Big 
Sandy  Valley  has  hard-surfaced  roads,  modern  hotels,  schools,  and 
churches.  As  seen  from  US  23,  it  has  a  settled  appearance.  Just  across 
the  hills  from  the  river,  however,  the  isolation  still  continues.  Side 
roads  leading  off  from  the  highway  are  few;  in  the  remote  hollows,  or 
on  the  steep  slopes  of  countless  hills,  are  lonely  little  cabins  where  the 
spinning  wheel  is  kept  busy  and  the  wagon  carries  the  family  to 
"buryin's,"  "meetin's"  or  "foot-washin's."  This  is  Jesse  Stuart's  coun- 

233 


234  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

try  (see  Literature)  and  the  locale  of  Jean  Thomas'  stories  about 
the  hill  people  of  the  Big  Sandy  region. 

US  23  crosses  the  Ohio  Line  0  m.  at  Portsmouth,  Ohio  (see  Ohio 
Tour  21),  by  way  of  a  bridge  (autos  25$,  pedestrians  5$)  over  the 
Ohio  River. 

SOUTH  PORTSMOUTH,  0.4  m.  (660  alt.,  500  pop.)  (see  Tour  11), 
is  at  the  junction  with  State  10  (see  Tour  11). 

Between  FULLERTON,  2.4  m.  (1,239  pop.),  and  Greenup  the  high- 
way closely  parallels  a  long  right-angle  bend-  of  the  near-by  Ohio  and 
crosses  fertile  bottoms  behind  the  dark,  squat  bluffs  that  border  the 
river.  Fruit  growing  is  the  chief  activity  in  this  level  region. 

GREENUP,  18.7  m.  (478  alt.,  1,125  pop.),  seat  of  Greenup  County, 
was  named  for  Christopher  Greenup,  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1804- 
1808).  The  town  was  known  as  Greenupsburg  until  1872  when  the 
name  was  changed  to  avoid  confusion  with  Greensburg  in  Green  County. 
The  old  brick  GREENUP  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE  was  erected  in  1811  to 
replace  an  earlier  one  built  of  logs  with  puncheon  floor  and  benches. 

Greenup  is  no  longer  an  important  river  port,  and  only  a  few  farmers 
use  the  old  ferry  between  this  point  and  Haverhill.  But  the  town  still 
attracts  the  hill  folk  so  colorfully  pictured  in  the  autobiography  and 
short  stories  of  Jesse  Stuart.  Greenup  was  almost  obliterated  by  the 
disastrous  flood  of  1937  when  the  entire  population  was  suddenly  ma- 
rooned, and  desperate  efforts  had  to  be  made  to  prevent  destruction. 

During  his  later  years  Daniel  Boone  (see  Tour  17 A)  is  said  to  have 
made  his  home  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  Ohio  River  near  Greenup. 
About  1799  he  removed  from  Kentucky  to  West  Virginia  by  going  up 
the  Ohio  in  a  canoe  made  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree. 

Right  from  Greenup  on  State  2,  an  improved  road,  to  RACCOON  IRON  FURNACE 
(R),  6.5  m.,  not  operated  since  1872.  The  final  charge  of  ore  has  never  been 
removed. 

East  of  Greenup  as  US  23  passes  through  some  of  the  best  eastern 
Kentucky  bottom  lands,  there  are  occasionally  fine  views  of  the  sweep- 
ing Ohio  River. 

RACELAND,  26.2  m.  (1,088  pop.),  has  a  track  that  is  the  center  for 
horse  racing  in  eastern  Kentucky. 

RUSSELL,  28.1  m.  (549  alt.,  2,084  pop.),  named  for  John  Russell  of 
Ashland,  one  of  the  region's  former  ironmasters,  lies  directly  opposite 
Ironton,  Ohio,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  highway  bridge  (autos 
20$,  pedestrians  5$).  The  town  has  grown  up  around  the  large  rail- 
road yards,  containing  147  miles  of  track,  owned  and  operated  by  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry.  Company.  A  modern  car  shop  with  a  capacity 
for  rebuilding  45  cars  daily  is  also  here. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Russell  are  a  few  ivy-mantled  ruins  of  old  blast 
furnaces  that  are  the  sole  reminders  of  the  iron  industry  that  flourished 
here  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Ohio  from  about  1812  until  the 
closing  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century.  These  silent  and  ghostly 
structures  sprang  up  as  enterprising  capitalists  began  exploiting  the  rich 


TOUR    I  235 

iron,  coal,  clay,  stone,  and  timber  resources  of  the  region.  The  pioneer 
furnaces  were  called  "salts"  because  the  iron  they  produced  was  cast 
in  40-inch  pots  used  for  evaporating  salt.  The  Ohio  River  offered  con- 
venient transportation;  shortly  pots  and  pans,  fireplace  implements, 
waffle  irons,  trivets,  and  the  like  were  being  made  here  and  sold  up  and 
down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  With  the  coming  of  the  industrial 
period  and  the  building  of  railroads,  dozens  of  furnaces  in  the  iron  fields 
bordering  both  sides  of  the  river  roared  with  activity.  Plumes  of  pale 
blue  smoke  curled  skyward  and  then  films  of  wood  ash  settled  on  the 
hillsides  as  the  tapped  furnaces  surrendered  the  molten  metal  that  was 
to  become  cannon  and  rails  and  plowshares  and  machines.  A  special 
class  of  men  arose,  the  ironmasters,  mostly  Scots  and  Englishmen,  who 
gave  flavor  and  excitement  to  the  entire  region  as  they  compelled  their 
men  and  their  furnaces  to  produce  more  and  better  iron  and  large  per- 
sonal fortunes  for  themselves.  They  were  the  lords  of  the  country 
living  in  regal  mansions  in  the  larger  towns  and  visiting  Maysville  or 
Cincinnati  for  week-end  jollities,  yet  they  mingled  freely  with  their 
workers  and  cared  for  them  paternally  in  hard  times. 

The  opening  of  a  new  furnace  meant  a  holiday  celebration  attended 
by  the  ironmaster,  his  family,  and  all  his  workers.  Old  songs  were 
sung,  and  after  the  sun  was  up  (there  was  a  superstition  about  this) 
a  lady,  often  the  betrothed  of  the  ironmaster's  son,  lighted  the  first  fire 
in  the  furnace.  At  noon  a  prodigious  feast  was  served,  consisting  of 
quarters  of  barbecued  beef,  sweet  potatoes,  large  loaves  of  bread,  and 
burgoo — large  pieces  of  prime  steer,  vegetables,  and  imported  spices 
boiled  in  a  large  kettle.  The  blast  was  applied  and  the  ironmaster,  cer- 
tain that  he  had  another  successful  furnace,  mingled  with  the  crowd  and 
received  their  congratulations.  Young  couples  stood  upon  the  runners 
and  pressed  their  initials  in  the  pig  iron  mold;  if  the  initials  of  a  young 
man  and  woman  were  broken  off  in  the  same  piece  of  iron  from  the  first 
cast,  they  would  be  married  and  the  bonds  of  matrimony  would  be  as 
strong  as  bands  of  iron.  When  night  came,  square  dances  were  per- 
formed in  the  spacious  commissary  until  a  horn  blast  ended  the  fes- 
tivities as  the  next  shift  came  on  duty  at  the  furnace. 

The  furnaces  had  their  greatest  activity  about  the  time  of  the  War 
between  the  States.  The  discovery  of  superior  metal  in  the  Upper 
Great  Lakes  region  and  the  depletion  of  the  local  ores  caused  iron 
making  to  decline  in  this  area;  the  rise  of  the  Youngstown-Pittsburgh 
region  brought  it  to  an  end.  The  furnaces  still  standing  have  been  cold 
and  silent  for  decades,  and  the  steel  mills  at  Ashland  look  elsewhere 
for  their  iron. 

Through  Ashland  and  southeast  of  it,  the  highway  continues  for  10 
miles  through  the  concentrated  industrial  area  of  eastern  Kentucky. 

ASHLAND,  33.4  m.  (552  alt.,  29,074  pop.)  (see  Ashland). 

Points  of  Interest:  American  Rolling  Mills,  Ashland  Coke  Company  Plant,  Cen- 
tral Park. 


236  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Between  Ashland  and  CATLETTSBURG,  39.3  m.  (552  alt.,  5,025 
pop.)  (see  Tour  16),  US  23  and  US  60  (see  Tour  16)  are  united. 

Between  Catlettsburg  and  Louisa  US  23  abruptly  leaves  the  Ohio  and 
Big  Sandy  Rivers  (the  latter  flows  into  the  Ohio  just  east  of  the  town), 
and  makes  a  short  cut  back  through  the  hill  country  with  its  frame 
houses  in  the  good  bottoms,  log  cabins  up  narrow  hollows,  small  patches 
of  tobacco,  one-room  schoolhouses,  and  an  indefinable  sense  of  isola- 
tion. 

At  51.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  unmarked  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  the  TRAIPSIN'  WOMAN'S  CABIN  (open  by  request),  1.6  m., 
owned  by  Jean  Thomas,  founder  of  the  American  Folk  Song  Festival  (adm.  free). 
On  the  second  Sunday  of  June  each  year  a  large  audience  gathers  here  to  hear 
the  ballads  and  see  the  folk  dances  presented  by  the  mountain  people.  The  songs 
and  dances  are  performed  with  strict  attention  to  appropriate  costuming,  steps, 
and  music.  Women  in  linsey-woolsey,  slat  bonnets,  and  homespun  shawls  dance 
to  the  tunes  of  "Chimney  Sweeper"  and  "Prince  Charley."  Mrs.  Thomas,  whose 
home  is  in  Ashland,  Ky.,  was  born  of  mountain  folk  and  early  became  interested 
in  the  folk  customs  of  her  people.  Traveling  through  the  mountains,  sometimes  in 
a  jolt  wagon,  sometimes  on  foot,  she  made  a  study  of  the  legends,  ballads,  and 
dances  of  the  Kentucky  mountaineer.  Her  works  include  Devil's  Ditties,  a  collec- 
tion of  songs,  and  the  Traipsin'  Woman,  an  account  of  her  experience  in  the  Cum- 
berland Mountains. 

Mrs.  Thomas'  log  cabin  is  a  reproduction  of  the  type  occupied  by  the  more  pros- 
perous settlers  of  100  years  ago.  It  is  on  an  eminence  among  wooded  hills.  Jilson 
Setters,  the  left-handed  fiddler  from  Lost  Hope  Hollow,  who  journeyed  to  London 
to  sing  for  the  English  Folk  Song  Society,  sings  ballads  of  his  own  creation  about 
his  travels.  He  helped  Mrs.  Thomas  found  the  folk  pageant.  It  was  the  moun- 
tain people  who  first  called  Mrs.  Thomas  the  "traipsin'  woman,"  for  they  described 
her  journeyings  from  county  to  county  as  "considerable  spells  of  traipsin'." 

LOUISA,  75.7  m.  (526  alt.,  1,961  pop.),  seat  of  Lawrence  County, 
was  named  for  Louisa,  Duchess  of  Cumberland.  It  is  a  pleasant  old 
town,  dating  from  the  flatboat  era,  and  is  in  a  region  of  considerable 
natural  beauty  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Big  Sandy  River.  Dur- 
ing the  Napoleonic  wars  thousands  of  bearskins  were  collected  along  the 
Big  Sandy  and  Kanawha  Rivers  and  sent  from  Louisa  down  river  to 
the  Ohio,  then  down  river  to  New  Orleans,  and  thence  to  Europe,  where 
they  were  made  into  headpieces  for  Napoleon's  grenadiers.  Big  Sandy 
has  been  used  for  transportation  for  more  than  a  century.  Packets  and 
barges  superseded  the  crude  early  flatboats;  down  Tug  and  Levisa 
Forks  came  millions  of  logs  from  the  forests  of  the  upper  valley,  bound 
for  Louisa  and  the  sawmills  along  the  Ohio  River;  the  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio  Ry.  built  a  terminus  here  decades  ago.  Today  an  occasional 
steamboat  continues  to  carry  traffic  between  this  point  and  Catletts- 
burg. 

At  the  northern  end  of  Louisa  along  US  23  is  the  BIG  SANDY 
DAM  (L),  the  first  movable  needle-type  dam  built  in  the  United 
States.  This  dam  was  erected  in  1896  at  a  cost  of  $396,305. 

The  old  FREESE  HOUSE  (private),  at  the  end  of  Sycamore  St.  over- 
looking the  Big  Sandy,  is  the  only  old  Georgian  Colonial  home  in 
Louisa.  This  two-story  brick  structure,  with  walls  13  inches  thick,  was 


TOUR    I  237 

built  about  1840.  A  front  porch  and  a  rear  ell  have  been  added,  and 
the  house  has  been  painted  red  with  white  trim.  The  original  yellow 
poplar  woodwork,  all  of  it  hand-whipsawed,  is  still  in  place.  This  was 
first  the  home  of  Capt.  Milton  Freese,  who  operated  packets  on  the  Big 
Sandy  and  Ohio  Rivers  for  50  years. 

According  to  a  tradition,  believed  by  many,  George  Washington, 
before  the  Revolution,  had  a  tract  of  2,084  acres  surveyed  on  both  sides 
of  the  Big  Sandy  River,  including  the  present  town  site  of  Louisa.  The 
story  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  a  cornerstone  on  this  survey  bears 
the  initials  "G.W." 

Another  tradition  concerning  the  selection  of  the  Kentucky- Virginia 
boundary  relates  that  three  commissioners,  selected  by  the  Governors 
of  the  two  States,  arrived  late  one  evening  in  October  1799  at  the  point 
where  Louisa  now  stands.  Rains  had  been  falling  and  the  waters  of 
both  forks  of  the  Big  Sandy  were  rising.  After  the  commissioners  had 
enjoyed  the  refreshments  and  conviviality  of  pioneers,  it  was  decided 
that  the  boundary  should  follow  the  larger  fork  of  the  Big  Sandy.  The 
next  morning  the  Tug  Fork,  which  had  been  rising  steadily  during  the 
night,  appeared  to  be  much  larger  than  the  Levisa  Fork  and  forthwith 
became  the  boundary.  The  commissioners  departed  before  the  slowly 
rising  waters  of  the  Levisa,  normally  the  larger  of  the  two,  reached  the 
junction  of  the  forks.  Satisfaction  with  the  result  was  widespread; 
many  years  later  it  was  realized  that,  had  the  Levisa  Fork  been  selected, 
the  rich  bottom  lands  and  extensive  mineral  resources  of  the  Big  Sandy 
Valley  would  have  remained  a  part  of  Virginia. 

There  is  a  story  that  in  1760  John  Swift  left  Alexandria,  Va.,  with 
a  party  and  came  through  the  mountains  to  some  place  in  Kentucky 
where  they  knew  of  a  silver  mine.  They  worked  the  mine  that  summer 
and  returned  to  Virginia  in  the  fall ;  a  program  they  repeated  each  year 
until  1769.  A  manuscript  of  their  travels  and  operations  gives  the  dates 
of  the  various  trips  and  the  names  of  Swift's  companions.  It  asserts 
that  they  also  had  some  interests  in  piratical  enterprises  along  the 
Atlantic  Coast,  and  gives  an  account  of  money  coined  and  treasures  of 
thousands  of  dollars  hidden  when  either  Indians  or  the  weather  made 
it  difficult  to  get  the  money  out.  Although  the  journal  seems  to  point 
to  the  region  around  Paint  Creek  in  Johnson  County  as  the  place  where 
Swift's  party  camped  and  worked  and  the  Mine  Fork  of  Paint  Creek 
was  so  named  for  their  mine,  nearly  every  county  in  eastern  Kentucky 
has  a  tradition  linking  it  with  this  romantic  story;  searching  for  the 
lost  treasure  has  long  been  a  favorite  pastime  in  Kentucky,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee. 

Left  from  Louisa  on  State  37,  a  paved  road,  to  the  center  of  the  FORT  GAY 
BRIDGE  (toll  15$  for  auto  and  driver,  15^  each  additional  passenger),  0.5  m., 
over  the  point  where  the  Levisa  and  Tug  Rivers  converge  to  form  the  Big  Sandy. 
This  bridge  connects  two  States  (West  Virginia  and  Kentucky),  two  counties, 
two  towns,  crosses  two  rivers,  charges  two  tolls,  and  has  three  approaches.  There 
is  an  excellent  view  here  of  the  Big  Sandy  River. 


238  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Right  on  State  3,  from  the  center  of  the  bridge,  a  short  distance  to  the  so- 
called  "Point"  section,  between  the  forks  of  the  Big  Sandy.  The  first  settlement 
in  Lawrence  County,  consisting  of  three  cabins  connected  by  palisades,  was 
founded  here  in  1789  by  Charles  Vancouver  of  London,  England,  who  had  re- 
ceived a  grant  of  land  from  King  George  III  in  1772;  the  patents  were  issued  by 
Governor  Randolph  of  Virginia  in  1768.  William  M.  Fulkerson,  an  attorney  of 
Louisa,  has  in  his  possession  this  old  parchment  document  with  the  official  seal 
of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London. 

South  of  Louisa  the  highway  (now  graveled)  follows  Levisa  Fork 
through  mountain  farm  lands  typical  of  the  Big  Sandy  Valley.  There 
are  a  few  small  villages,  but  most  of  the  region  appears  to  be  unin- 
habited as  the  hills  near  the  highway  conceal  more  distant  hills  in  the 
hollows  and  bottoms  of  which  are  trie  cabins  and  farms  of  the  moun- 
taineer. Hard  put  though  he  is  to  scrape  a  living  from  his  steep  and 
sometimes  unfertile  patches,  the  mountaineer  has  a  deep  attachment 
for  his  farm  and  his  home;  he  would  not  think  of  forsaking  them  (as 
long  as  they  are  his)  to  go  out  to  "the  level  land"  beyond  the  moun- 
tains. Proud  and  sensitive,  he  is  quick  to  resent  the  flouts  of  outsiders, 
and  contemptuous  of  any  of  his  own  kind  who  "git  above  their  raisin'." 
He  is  unfailingly  kind  and  hospitable  because  he  holds  individuality  in 
high  esteem;  his  cabin  often  has  a  place  set  at  the  table  for  a  chance 
visitor,  he  is  "mighty  proud"  to  meet  someone  he  likes,  and  his  tradi- 
tional invitation  is,  "Drag  up  a  cheer  and  sit  a  spell." 

In  these  hollows  bearing  such  names  as  Lonesome,  Troublesome,  and 
Peevish,  the  traditions,  songs,  customs,  and  handicrafts  of  the  original 
settlers  still  survive  among  their  descendants  who  continue  to  live  in 
the  same  way  and  often  in  the  same  places  as  their  great-grandsires. 
The  pattern  of  life  is  simple  but  tenacious.  The  typical  mountaineer 
owns  a  cow,  a  couple  of  mules,  hogs,  chickens,  geese,  turkeys,  and 
ducks.  His  house  is  usually  a  log  cabin.  He  raises  corn  and  tobacco 
for  a  "money  crop,"  an  acre  of  cane  for  sorghum,  and  potatoes,  turnips, 
and  sometimes  pumpkins  and  apples  for  winter  use.  Wild  berries, 
game,  and  fish  in  the  mountain  streams  also  provide  him  with  food. 
The  material  with  which  he  clothes  his  family  is  still  woven  on  hand 
looms  and  he  needs  money  chiefly  for  taxes;  many  of  his  possessions  he 
acquires  by  barter.  Paths  and  old  creek  beds  join  hollow  to  hollow  and 
serve  in  lieu  of  roads.  The  ham  a  traveler  eats  at  one  of  the  town 
hotels  in  this  region  quite  likely  comes  from  a  Chicago  packing  house 
because  the  mountaineer  cannot  bring  in  his  hogs  from  his  farm  four 
miles  away. 

Music  is  second  only  to  religion  in  the  hearts  of  the  mountain  peo- 
ple; and  while  the  women  have  preserved  the  handicrafts  of  their  an- 
cestors, it  is  the  mountain  men  chiefly  who  have  cherished  their  songs. 
The  fiddle,  the  dulcimer,  the  banjo,  and  the  guitar  are  met  with  at 
infares  (weddings),  dances,  frolics,  and  impromptu  gatherings;  and  to 
this  day  there  is  found  in  the  mountains  of  Kentucky  the  wandering 
minstrel  who  trudges  along  quiet  creeks  and  into  lonely  hollows  to 
bring  cheer  with  his  "sure-enough  fiddle"  (as  contrasted  with  the  chil- 


TOUR    I  239 

dren's  gourd  fiddle)  and  his  songs.  Religious  extremists  call  these  lively 
jigs  or  sweet  romantic  ballads  "devil  ditties."  But  it  delights  most  of 
the  mountain  people,  from  the  "leastuns"  (youngest  children)  to  the 
grandsires,  to  gather  about  the  minstrel  who  can  sing  and  play  these 
old,  sometimes  Elizabethan,  songs  that  their  ancestors  knew  in  the 
shires  of  England  or  the  highlands  of  Scotland;  a  "right  ditty  singer" 
means  as  much  in  their  lives  as  a  "mighty  knowin'  "  doctor  or  a  good 
preacher.  Some  of  the  more  famous  mountain  minstrels  are  said  to  be 
able  to  carry  on  for  days  without  repeating  themselves.  Old  favorites 
include  "Lord  Lovell,"  "The  Dying  Knight's  Farewell,"  "Lady  Isabel 
and  the  Elf  Knight,"  "Barbara  Allen,"  "Thread  the  Needle,"  "Rickett's 
Hornpipe,"  "Give  the  Fiddler  a  Dram,"  "Lord  Dannel,"  "Pa's  Done  Et 
the  Shotgun,"  and  "My  Gal  is  Billy-be-Damned." 

The  mountaineer's  life  is  hard  but  self-contained,  and  the  sense  of 
independence  is  his  most  prized  trait.  His  psychology  is  still  that  of 
the  frontier;  he  is  suspicious  of  outsiders,  takes  strong  measures  against 
real  or  fancied  wrongs,  yet  withal  is  extremely  sociable.  He  describes 
his  neighbors  as  sometimes  "contrarious,"  sometimes  "witchy"  (claim- 
ing power  to  bewitch  people) ;  others  are  "flighty"  and  some  are 
"drinlin"  (frail).  He  respects  "larnin',"  even  though  he  may  not  be 
able  to  read  or  write  himself,  so  long  as  it  does  not  make  the  possessor 
flout  the  ways  of  his  people.  Rooted  to  the  soil  and  ancestral  tradi- 
tions, the  mountaineer's  concern  with  elemental  things  gives  him  a 
strength  of  character  and  a  basic  permanence  that  is  not  found  else- 
where in  the  United  States;  to  find  his  like,  one  must  look  to  the  Eng- 
lish yeoman. 

At  106.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17);  between 
this  point  and  Paintsville,  US  23  and  State  40  are  united. 

PAINTSVILLE,  108.3  m.  (620  alt.,  2,411  pop.),  seat  of  Johnson 
County,  was  named  for  PAINT  CREEK  which  flows  through  the 
town,  and  along  which  early  settlers  found  many  of  the  large  trees 
stripped  of  their  bark  and  embellished  with  drawings  of  birds  and 
animals,  painted  in  red  and  black  on  the  smooth  undertrunk  of  the 
trees.  There  were  found  also  odd  figures  of  buffalo  and  deer  painted 
in  red  and  black  on  the  clifflike  sandstones  of  the  creek  gorge.  Various 
undecipherable  hieroglyphs  were  once  visible  near  the  drawings,  but 
these  have  become  obliterated  by  the  weather  during  the  last  40  or  50 
years. 

The  town  is  on  the  SITE  OF  PAINT  LICK  STATION,  an  old  trading 
post.  Indian  traditions  cling  to  this  part  of  the  valley,  which  was  ap- 
parently a  favorite  burial  ground  of  the  Indians.  On  the  hills  surround- 
ing Paintsville  many  graves  and  burial  mounds  have  been  found;  and 
artifacts,  such  as  pipes,  tomahawks,  pottery,  and  beads,  have  been 
taken  from  them.  The  ROCK  HOUSE,  a  natural  rock  formation  with  a 
circular  opening  cut  to  provide  entrance,  stands  on  a  hill  facing  the 
river  just  north  of  Concord  Baptist  Church.  Such  shelters,  bearing 
evidence  of  Indian  occupation,  replaced  wigwams  in  times  of  danger. 

Paintsville  is  at  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17). 


240  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

EAST  POINT,  114.5  m.  (627  alt.,  265  pop.),  lies  directly  across  the 
Levisa  Fork  of  the  Big  Sandy  River  from  Blockhouse  Bottom,  the 
SITE  OF  HARMON'S  STATION.  This,  the  first  fort,  in  the  Big  Sandy 
Valley,  was  founded  in  1787  by  Matthias  Harmon  and  a  party  of  set- 
tlers from  Draper's  Meadow.  Attacked  by  Indians  in  1788,  the  station 
was  abandoned  and  burned,  but  a  year  later  rebuilt. 

In  the  fall  of  1787,  while  practically  all  the  men  from  Harmon's 
Station  were  on  a  hunting  trip  in  the  Big  Sandy  Valley,  a  band  of 
Cherokee  and  Shawnee  attacked  the  home  of  Jennie  Wiley  at  the  settle- 
ment of  Walker's  Creek.  With  Mrs.  Wiley  were  her  15-year-old  brother 
and  her  four  children.  Realizing  from  the  actions  of  the  two  leaders 
that  they  had  mistaken  her  home  for  that  of  Matthias  Harmon,  who 
had  defeated  the  Indians  a  few  days  before,  Mrs.  Wiley  tried  to  fight 
them  off  only  to  see  three  of  the  children  and  her  brother  tomahawked 
and  scalped.  After  setting  fire  to  the  cabin,  the  Indians,  with  Mrs. 
Wiley  and  her  15-month-old  baby  as  captives,  left  the  settlement. 
During  the  11  months  in  which  she  was  held,  Jennie  Wiley  saw  them 
kill  her  baby  by  dashing  its  brains  out  against  a  tree. 

During  the  winter  the  Indians  camped  near  the  head  of  Cherokee 
Creek.  While  they  were  on  one  of  their  hunting  trips,  Mrs.  Wiley, 
bound  with  rawhide  thongs,  crawled  to  the  corner  of  the  cabin;  she 
allowed  the  rain  to  drip  through  the  roof  and  to  fall  on  the  leather 
until  it  stretched.  Then  she  freed  herself  and  escaped  down  Little  Mud 
Lick  Creek  and  up  another  small  stream,  which  the  settlers  later  named 
Jennie's  Creek  in  honor  of  this  brave  pioneer  woman.  At  East  Point 
she  crossed  the  river  on  a  log  and  reached  Harmon's  Station  just  before 
the  Indians  who  were  pursuing  her  appeared  on  the  opposite  side. 

The  Bottoms  between  East  Point  and  Prestonsburg  were  used  as 
camping  grounds  during  the  War  between  the  States  by  Union  forces 
under  Gen.  James  A.  Garfield. 

PRESTONSBURG,  121.2  m.  (643  alt.,  2,105  pop.),  between  the 
river  and  the  hills,  was  first  known  as  Preston  Station,  named  for  Col. 
John  Preston,  a  surveyor  from  Augusta  County,  Virginia,  who  camped 
here  in  1791.  The  erection  of  John  Spurlock's  house  on  this  site  in 
1791  distinguishes  Prestonsburg  as  the  oldest  settlement  in  the  Big 
Sandy  Valley.  The  building  stood  here  for  many  years  as  a  landmark. 

On  Second  Ave.,  north  of  Court  St.,  is  the  house  used  as  COLONEL 
GARFIELD'S  HEADQUARTERS  (open  by  request)  during  his  Big  Sandy 
campaign.  The  building,  facing  the  river,  is  a  rambling  two-story 
frame  structure  with  brick  end  chimneys  and  a  two-story  veranda  across 
the  front.  Soldiers  camped  300  yards  north  of  the  house. 

During  the  War  between  the  States  the  Big  Sandy  Valley  was  the 
scene  of  an  important  military  campaign.  The  Battle  of  Middle  Creek, 
fought  on  January  10,  1862,  within  three  miles  of  Prestonsburg,  deter- 
mined the  control  of  eastern  Kentucky  and  drove  a  Union  salient  into 
the  broken  Confederate  line  that  cut  across  southern  Kentucky.  Col. 
James  A.  Garfield,  who  commanded  a  brigade  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky 
troops  under  General  Buell,  planned  and  executed  the  campaign.  In  a 


TOUR    I  241 

month  he  succeeded  in  driving  the  Confederate  forces  under  Gen. 
Humphrey  Marshall  from  the  Big  Sandy  Valley,  causing  them  to  re- 
treat into  southeastern  Virginia,  thereby  preventing  them  from  descend- 
ing the  Ohio  River  to  Cincinnati.  The  Battle  of  Middle  Creek  was  the 
first  substantial  victory  for  the  Union  cause.  It  was  the  success  of 
Garfield's  campaign  in  the  Big  Sandy  that  gave  him  the  general's  star 
and  started  him  on  the  road  leading  to  the  Presidency. 

A  story  is  told  that  illustrates  some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  cam- 
paign. The  Big  Sandy  was  in  flood,  the  roads  deep  in  mud,  and  the 
brigade  in  need  of  supplies.  Garfield,  with  one  other  soldier,  descended 
in  a  skiff  from  Pikeville  to  Catlettsburg  where  they  found  the  steamer 
Sandy  Valley.  He  loaded  the  boat  with  supplies  and  commanded  the 
captain  and  crew  to  pilot  him  back  to  Pikeville.  The  captain  refused, 
so  Garfield  took  the  wheel  himself,  and  after  a  perilous  trip  reached 
Pikeville. 

Between  Prestonsburg  and  Pikeville  the  highway  winds  along  the 
east  side  of  Levisa  Fork,  much  of  the  distance  in  plain  sight  of  the 
river. 

At  130.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  80  (see  Tour  18). 

US  23  passes  through  several  little  towns  whose  men  work  irregularly 
in  the  numerous  hillside  coal  mines  of  the  area  (see  Tour  19).  Since 
the  highway  has  opened  this  region  to  products  from  the  South,  the 
farmers,  living  a  mile  or  two  back  from  the  road,  are  no  longer  able  to 
sell  the  garden  products  with  which  they  formerly  paid  their  taxes; 
their  situation  is  desperate.  In  this  region  dwell  many  relatives  and 
descendants  of  the  Hatfield  and  McCoy  families,  whose  feuds  were 
notorious  for  several  generations  (see  Tour  19). 

Back  from  the  highway  are  isolated  little  graveyards  usually  perched 
on  hilltops  under  a  cluster  of  oak  trees.  Many  of  them  have  "grave 
houses" — rude  log  and  clapboard  shelters — that  the  mountaineers  cus- 
tomarily erect  over  and  around  the  graves  of  their  relatives. 

PIKEVILLE,  152.2  m.  (680  alt.,  3,376  pop.),  with  its  long  narrow 
streets,  is  surrounded  by  thickly  timbered  countryside  that  ranges  from 
the  hilly  to  the  mountainous;  neighboring  roads  reveal  scenes  of  wild, 
almost  breathtaking,  beauty.  Although  the  Levisa,  which  flows  through 
the  town,  no  longer  carries  its  once  heavy  burden  of  logs  and  other 
freight,  Pikeville  is  still  a  lumbering  and  coal  mining  center.  It  is  also 
the  administration  office  of  the  Pikeville  terminus  of  the  Chesapeake 
&  Ohio  Ry.  It  was  named  for  Zebulon  M.  Pike,  the  explorer,  and  was 
developed  chiefly  by  the  younger  sons  of  the  Rees  family  of  Virginia 
who  took  up  thousands  of  acres  here. 

The  HOTEL  JAMES  HATCHER,  Main  St.,  completed  in  1931,  has  an 
odd  assortment  of  relics  on  display  in  its  lobby — ox-yokes,  hoop  skirts, 
cannon  balls,  ox-shoes,  chain  dogs,  cant  hooks,  bootjacks,  spinning 
wheels,  looms,  and  flintlock  rifles.  On  the  walls  are  popular  bits  of 
rural  humor:  "To  live  a  long  life,  reside  in  Pikeville — the  only  city 
on  the  map  where  an  undertaker  ever  failed  in  business";  "There  is  a 
noticeable  increase  in  population  in  these  mountain  counties.  Why? 


242  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

True  mountaineers  obey  the  commandments  and  never  allow  a  twin 
bed  in  their  homes";  "Visiting  Pikeville  is  like  making  love  to  an  old 
maid.  You'll  have  to  do  it  all  over  again";  and  "We  serve  free  beer  if 
you  are  over  95  years  old  and  accompanied  by  your  parent." 

Pikeville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  119  (see  Tour  19);  between 
Pikeville  and  JENKINS,  191.5  m.  (1,527  alt.,  8,465  pop.)  (see  Tour 
19),  US  23  and  US  119  are  united  (see  Tour  19). 

South  of  Jenkins  the  route  leads  over  continuous  elevations  to  the 
crest  of  Pine  Mountain,  thence  through  historic  POUND  GAP,  194.6  m. 
(2,366  alt.),  a  mountain  pass  that  connects  the  South  with  the  Big 
Sandy  Valley.  It  is  called  a  wind  gap  because  water  no  longer  flows 
through  it.  Pound  Gap,  like  many  mountain  passes,  has  been  a  high- 
road of  adventure  and  romance.  The  Kentucky,  the  Cumberland,  and 
the  Big  Sandy  head  near  it;  Indian  trails  passed  through  it;  pioneers 
eventually  utilized  it.  At  first  called  Sounding  Gap  because  the  rocky 
formation  seemed  to  give  back  a  hollow  sound,  the  name  was  corrupted 
to  Pound  Gap. 

A  marker  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  gap  lists  important  dates  in 
the  early  history  of  the  State  and  of  this  pass. 

Pound  Gap  is  on  the  Virginia  Line,  20.5  miles  west  of  Norton,  Va. 
(see  Virginia  Tour  15). 


Tour  2 


Winchester — Stanton — Jackson — Hazard — Junction  with  US  119;  161.9 
m.  State  15. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  roughly  parallels  entire  route. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  larger  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

This  route,  between  Winchester  and  the  junction  with  US  119,  passes 
from  the  fertile  fields  and  spacious  farmhouses  of  the  Bluegrass  region, 
along  Indian  and  pioneer  trails  and  winding  streams,  to  the  wooded 
hills  of  the  mist-hung  Appalachians. 

WINCHESTER,  0  m.  (981  alt.,  8,233  pop.)  (see  Tour  16),  is  at  the 
junctions  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16)  and  US  227  (see  Tour  17A). 

Southeast  of  Winchester  State  15  winds  through  rolling  country  to 
INDIAN  OLD  FIELDS  (R),  11  m.,  the  SITE  OF  ESKIPPAKITHIKI,  an 
Indian  village  that  was  here  from  about  1718  to  1754,  and  is  believed 
to  have  been  the  last  one  in  Kentucky.  Early  Scottish  traders,  referred 
to  the  Piqua,  a  band  of  Shawnee  who  lived  here,  as  Picts,  and  their 


TOUR    2  243 

village  as  Little  Pict  Town.     The  first  white  settlers  found  remnants 
of  Indian  cornfields,  cabins,  and  a  palisade  here. 
At  12  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  unimproved  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  OIL  SPRINGS,  0.5  m.,  a  once  popular  resort  marked  by 
an  abandoned  hotel  and  a  few  servants'  quarters.  There  are  both  sulphur  and 
chalybeate  springs  here.  Like  others  in  the  vicinity,  they  contain  traces  of 
petroleum. 

The  overflow  from  the  springs  forms  LULBEGRUD  CREEK,  beside  which 
John  Finley,  Daniel  Boone,  and  several  others  camped  in  1769.  They  had  been 
reading  Gulliver's  Travels  at  night  by  the  campfire,  when  one  evening  one  of  the 
men  returned  to  camp  and  reported  that  he,  like  Gulliver,  had  been  to  Lorbrulgrud, 
capital  of  Brobdingnag,  and  had  killed  two  of  the  inhabitants.  He  had  in  reality 
been  to  near-by  Oil  Springs  and  had  killed  two  buffaloes.  The  name,  twisted  into 
Lulbegrud,  is  still  applied  to  the  creek. 

Left  4  m.  from  Oil  Springs  on  a  trail,  passable  in  good  weather,  to  PILOT 
KNOB,  800  feet  above  the  plains.  The  superb  view  from  this  point  includes 
the  towns  of  Winchester  and  Mount  Sterling,  20  miles  distant.  From  this  summit 
John  Finley  and  Daniel  Boone  (see  Tour  17 A)  first  glimpsed  the  Bluegrass  up- 
lands in  1769.  Pilot  Knob  had  been  a  landmark  to  Indians  passing  up  and  down 
the  great  Warriors'  Trace  many  years  before  the  first  pioneers  arrived  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

CLAY  CITY,  19.5  m.  (628  alt.,  528  pop.),  is  the  site  of  the  once 
prosperous  Red  River  Iron  Works,  known  as  early  as  1802  for  the 
superior  quality  of  the  nails,  stoves,  plowshares,  cannon  balls,  and 
other  products  manufactured  in  its  blast  furnace  and  forge.  Tradition 
states  that  many  of  the  cannon  balls  used  in  the  War  of  1812  were 
made  here. 

STANTON,  24.3  m.  (562  alt.,  423  pop.),  seat  of  Powell  County,  is 
on  the  flood  plain  of  Red  River.  Stanton,  first  called  Beaver  Pond 
for  a  small  lake  created  by  a  beaver  dam  in  the  swampy  lowlands  just 
east  of  the  town,  was  renamed  in  1852  to  honor  Richard  H.  Stanton 
of  Maysville,  Representative  in  Congress  from  1849  to  1855.  Hunting 
is  a  popular  sport  during  the  fall  season  in  the  extensive  woodlands 
of  the  mountainous  region  surrounding  Stanton,  where  small  game,  in- 
cluding fox,  raccoon,  opossum,  rabbit,  and  squirrel  are  plentiful. 

SLADE,  36.4  m.  (890  alt.,  418  pop.),  is  a  hamlet  lying  in  rugged 
uplands. 

Right  from  Slade  on  graveled  State  11  to  NATURAL  BRIDGE  STATE  PARK, 

2.6  m.  (adm.  adults  10$,  children  5$;  overnight  parking,  25$;  lodge,  shelter  houses, 
hotel  and  cabins;  boating  and  bathing  facilities).  NATURAL  BRIDGE,  a  reddish 
rock-span  of  the  Paleozoic  era,  forms  a  dividing  ridge  between  Wolfe  and  Powell 
Counties.  Contrary  to  the  popular  impression,  it  was  not  carved  by  stream 
erosion  but  by  the  disintegrating  action  of  wind,  mist,  rain,  and  frost  on  the 
softer  conglomerate  limestone  under  the  hard  capstone.  This  vast  arch  has  a 
clearance  of  92  feet,  a  width  between  abutments  of  76  feet,  and  a  roadway  breadth 
of  24  feet.  Trails  lead  to  the  top  of  the  bridge,  from  which  there  is  a  magnificent 
view  of  the  surrounding  countryside.  In  the  park's  1,127  wooded,  hilly  acres 
are  cliffs  and  huge  balanced  rocks,  as  well  as  a  profusion  of  wild  flowers,  rhodo- 
dendron, and  mountain  laurel. 


244  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Between  Slade  and  Jackson  the  route  is  through  a  deep  gap  in  Holly 
Ridge,  the  mountain  on  the  south  side  of  which  the  highway  follows 
a  small  ravine  which  is  cool  even  in  the  hottest  weather.  The  surround- 
ing hills  are  covered  with  shrubs  and  vines  and  in  the  spring  and  early 
summer  they  fairly  glow  with  mountain  laurel  and  rhododendron.  At 
intervals  the  waters  of  mountain  streams  can  be  heard  plunging  against 
rocks. 

South  of  this  peaceful  valley  the  highway  winds  in  and  out,  making 
sweeping  curves  and  sharp  turns  to  the  top  of  FROZEN  MOUNTAIN 
(1,500  alt.) .  From  this  point  is  a  panorama  of  jagged  cliffs  rising  above 
wide  expanses  of  woodland.  In  late  fall  the  varicolored  foliage  of  the 
deciduous  trees — chiefly  scrub  oak — contrasts  pleasingly  with  the  green 
of  the  conifers.  South  of  Frozen  Mountain  the  highway  follows  the 
devious  course  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River. 

JACKSON,  77.9  m.  (790  alt.,  2,109  pop.),  the  seat  of  Breathitt 
County,  straggles  over  a  hillside  around  which  the  North  Fork  curves. 
Houses  in  this  town  face  a  narrow  valley  through  which  the  river  flows 
toward  a  towering  mountain.  Jackson,  named  by  admirers  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  was  formerly  so  isolated  that  its  inhabitants  retained  for  many 
years  the  customs  and  peculiarities  of  speech  of  their  pioneer  English 
ancestors.  Since  1890,  when  the  railroad  was  extended  from  Lexing- 
ton, Jackson  has  become  a  distributing  point  of  merchandise  for  the 
remoter  mountain  regions  and  its  residents  have  abandoned  not  only 
the  feuds  (see  Tour  19)  which  caused  the  county  to  be  called  Bloody 
Breathitt  but  also  most  of  their  distinctive  mountain  customs  and 
occupations.  One  of  the  latter,  "senging,"  or  the  gathering  of  ginseng, 
was  an  important  source  of  income  of  the  early  settlers.  The  roots 
of  this  herb  were  dried,  baled,  and  shipped  to  China  where  they  are 
valued  for  their  medicinal  properties.  The  hillspeople — especially  the 
womenfolk — used  to  troop  into  the  mountains  at  dawn  with  sacks  and 
small  hoes.  There  they  worked  busily  all  day  filling  their  bags  with 
roots  which  they  dragged  wearily  home  at  twilight.  At  the  end  of  each 
week  all  of  the  dried  ginseng  was  exchanged  at  the  country  store  for 
" factory"  gingham  and  calico,  salt,  soda,  coffee,  and  other  necessities 
that  could  not  be  produced  on  the  little  hillside  farms.  There  was 
keen  competition  among  "sengers"  for  the  award  given  to  the  digger 
who  had  brought  in  the  greatest  quantity  by  the  end  of  the  season. 
The  prize,  often  a  pair  of  coarse  shoes  or  only  a  bright  ribbon,  was 
eagerly  coveted,  and  the  winner  was  lauded  throughout  the  county. 

LEE'S  JUNIOR  COLLEGE,  at  Jackson,  established  in  1864,  is  main- 
tained by  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kentucky.  The  school  is  co- 
educational and  has  an  enrollment  of  approximately  100  students. 

In  QUICKSAND,  82  m.  (673  alt.,  90  pop.),  is  a  substation  of  the 
forestry  division  of  University  of  Kentucky  College  of  Agriculture.  A 
tract  of  15,000  acres  here  is  devoted  to  experiments  in  reforestation. 
On  the  top  of  a  ridge  in  Quicksand  overlooking  the  river  is  a  large 
MOUND  of  unknown  origin  and  purpose.  It  consists  of  an  immense 


VI.  IN  THE  BLUEGRASS 


.       : 


I  I 


CHURCHILL  DOWNS,  LOUISVILLE 


WAR  ADMIRAL,  WINNER  OF  THE  1 93  7  KENTUCKY  DERBY 


V 


MAN  0'  WAR 


COMING  OUT  OF  PADDOCK,  CHURCHILL  DOWNS 


• 


: 


•  II 


BLUE  GRASS  TROTTERS  IN  ACTION 


ON  DIXIANA  FARM 


i. 


STABLES  AT  ELMENDORF 


IDLE  HOUR  STABLE 


m 


, ,  m 


«V  I 


A    % 

m  ^ 


>v 


-"'*i: 


SPRING  IN  THE  BLUEGRASS 


BLESSING  OF  THE  HOUNDS  CEREMONY  BY  IROQUOIS  HUNT  CLUB 


GRIME'S  MILL  HOUSE,  HEADQUARTERS  OF  IROQUOIS  HUNT  CLUB 


ROAD  THROUGH   THE  BLUE  GRASS   COUNTRY 


A  KENTUCKY  PIKE 


TOUR    2  245 

heap  of  stones,  many  of  which  are  believed  to  have  been  brought  from 
a  considerable  distance.  In  a  neighboring  valley  is  an  Indian  village 
site  that  has  yielded  some  artifacts. 

Quicksand  is  the  scene  of  the  annual  Robinson  Harvest  Festival 
(last  Thurs.  and  Fri.  of  Sept.),  during  which  products  of  the  fireside 
industries  of  the  mountain  people  are  displayed  and  sold,  and  contests 
in  folk  singing  and  dancing  are  held. 

RIVERSIDE  INSTITUTE  in  LOST  CREEK,  89  m.  (40  pop.),  is  de- 
scribed as  a  "small  Berea"  (see  Tour  4).  Here  about  70  mountain 
boys  and  girls  are  given  vocational  training.  The  school  is  conducted 
by  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ.  This  Protestant  sect  was  founded 
in  the  United  States  by  Philip  W.  Otterbein  (1726-1813). 

Between  DWARF,  114.3  m.  (900  alt.,  118  pop.)  (see  Tour  18)  and 
120  m.,  State  15  and  State  80  (see  Tour  18)  are  united. 

HAZARD,  121.6  m.  (833  alt.,  7,021  pop.),  seat  of  Perry  County, 
was  named  by  men  who  served  under  Oliver  Hazard  Perry  in  the  Battle 
of  Lake  Erie,  September  10,  1813.  Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  War 
between  the  States,  natural  gas  was  discovered  in  this  region,  and  in 
1917  oil  was  found.  In  1910  Hazard  had  only  537  inhabitants,  but 
after  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  tracks  had  been  extended  from 
Jackson  into  the  Perry  County  coal  fields — one  of  the  finest  in  the  State 
— Hazard  grew  steadily.  Because  of  the  ready  accessibility  of  fuel,  a 
large  steel  mill  has  been  erected  in  the  town.  Large  quantities  of 
timber  are  still  available  in  this  vicinity  and  numerous  sawmills  are  in 
operation. 

The  French-Eversole  feud,  which  began  in  1882,  was  principally  con- 
fined to  Perry  County.  The  worst  conflict  occurred  in  Hazard  (1888) 
where  members  of  one  faction  barricaded  themselves  in  the  courthouse 
and  the  other  faction  occupied  nearby  dwellings  and  stores.  Twelve 
men  were  killed  and  several  were  wounded  in  this  battle. 

Between  Hazard  and  Whitesburg  the  highway  leads  through  rugged 
hills  and  short  fertile  valleys.  Lonely  little  cabins  with  their  small 
patches  of  corn  perch  on  the  ridges  or  nestle  in  the  coves.  This  is  the 
region  of  Chaucerian  English,  old  ballads,  and  the  dulcimer  (see  Tours 
1,  18,  and  19). 

WHITESBURG,  160.2  m.  (1,146  alt.,  1,804  pop.),  seat  of  Letcher 
County,  is  named  for  C.  White,  a  member  of  the  legislature  when  the 
county  was  formed.  Before  the  coming  of  the  railroad  in  1912,  Whites- 
burg  with  a  population  of  300,  was  the  only  town  in  Letcher  County, 
and  lumber  milling  was  the  chief  industry.  Between  1880  and  1890 
great  quantities  of  timber  from  the  vast  forests  along  the  headwaters 
of  the  Kentucky  and  Cumberland  Rivers  were  floated  downstream  to 
the  mills  here  from  which  lumber  was  shipped  to  many  parts  of  the 
world. 

At  161.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  119  (see  Tour  19). 


246  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 


Tour  3 


( Cincinnati,  Ohio )  — Newport — Cynthiana — Paris — Lexington — Nicho- 
lasville — Lancaster — Somerset — (Chattanooga,  Tenn.);  US  27. 
Ohio  Line  to  Tennessee  Line,  221.4  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

Cincinnati,  New  Orleans,  and  Texas  Pacific  R.R.  parallels  route  between  Eubank 

and  Tennessee  Line. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  larger  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

This  route  crosses  rolling  hills,  fertile  Bluegrass  lands,  and  the  foot- 
hills and  mountains  of  southeastern  Kentucky.  US  27,  bordered  by 
white  rail  fences  or  old  stone  walls,  passes  fine  farms  in  central  Ken- 
tucky with  their  stately  old  mansions;  great  stables  kept  with  the  tidi- 
ness of  a  Dutch  kitchen ;  sleek  horses,  purebred  cattle,  and  sheep  brows- 
ing in  blue-tinted  fields;  and  broad  acres  of  waving  grain,  tobacco,  and 
hemp. 

Section  a.  OHIO  LINE  to  LEXINGTON;  98.3  m.  US  27 

US  27,  the  Lookout  Mountain  Airline,  crosses  the  Ohio  Line,  0  m., 
at  Cincinnati,  Ohio  (see  Ohio  Tour  26),  on  the  Central  Bridge  (toll 
10$  to  75$)  over  the  Ohio  River. 

NEWPORT,  1  m.  (512  alt.,  29,744  pop.),  directly  above  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Licking  and  Ohio  Rivers,  is  within  the  Cincinnati  met- 
ropolitan area.  Seen  from  a  distance  on  winter  days  when  the  city 
is  blanketed  with  Cincinnati's  smoke,  Newport  seems  to  be  a  gray 
lake  buoying  up  church  spires  and  chimneys.  Most  of  the  buildings, 
erected  in  the  days  of  chimney  pots,  coal  stoves,  and  open  fires,  are  of 
brick  and  are  utilitarian  in  workmanship  and  design.  The  town  is 
quiet  on  weekdays,  when  so  many  of  its  citizens  have  gone  over  the 
river  to  work  in  Cincinnati,  but  on  Saturdays  farmers  from  the  nearby 
fertile  farm  lands  come  to  do  their  trading  or  discuss  crops  and  politics. 

A  young  soldier  by  the  name  of  Hubbard  Taylor  came  here  in  1790 
with  the  Kentucky  troops  from  Lexington,  on  their  way  to  join  St. 
Clair  at  Fort  Washington.  When  young  Taylor  saw  the  lush  vegeta- 
tion here,  he  went  no  farther.  Acting  as  agent  for  his  father  in  Vir- 
ginia, he  bought  holdings  and  roughly  planned  the  town,  naming  it 
Newport  in  honor  of  Christopher  Newport  who  had  come  to  America 
in  1607  as  commander  of  the  first  ship  to  reach  Jamestown. 

There  is  no  record  of  what  became  of  Hubbard;  two  years  later 
when  his  brother  James  came  to  visit  the  family  holdings,  he  found 


TOUR    3  247 

little  except  the  name  and  the  fine  land.  James  returned  to  Virginia 
and  the  following  spring  came  back  to  Newport  with  Robert  Christy, 
an  Englishman.  He  also  brought  his  wife,  two  slaves,  a  pair  of  blooded 
horses,  and  farming  and  household  equipment. 

During  the  first  two  years  the  place  continued  to  be  little  better  than 
a  clearing  in  the  wilderness,  though  in  1 796,  a  year  after  its  incorpora- 
tion as  a  village,  Newport  became  the  county  seat.  In  1798  William 
Kennedy  and  other  prominent  citizens  of  northern  Kentucky  estab- 
lished Newport  Academy,  a  school  that  soon  became  famous  throughout 
the  region.  In  spite  of  early  steps  in  education  and  the  building  of 
churches,  more  than  one  citizen  protested  through  the  Cincinnati  papers 
against  the  practice  of  staining  Newport's  riverbanks  with  gore  from 
frequent  duels.  Others  spoke  against  the  custom  of  burning  useless 
flatboats  on  the  riverbanks;  still  others  complained  of  disturbances 
made  by  inebriates. 

By  1835  Newport  had  again  been  incorporated,  this  time  as  a  city. 
The  mayor  and  the  trustees  seem  to  have  been  men  of  dignified  man- 
ners and  strict  morals,  judging  from  the  laws  they  passed.  Hallooing 
was  declared  illegal,  day  or  night;  swearing  was  likely  to  cost  five 
dollars;  swimming  was  prohibited  within  the  town  limits  between 
4  A.M.  and  9  P.M.;  and  four  trustees  had  to  give  permission  for  the 
interment  of  any  body  within  the  public  burying  ground. 

Like  other  Kentucky  towns,  Newport  was  caught  between  the  North 
and  the  South  during  the  War  between  the  States.  A  mob  of  Southern 
sympathizers  in  1856  destroyed  the  office  and  equipment  of  the  True 
South,  an  abolitionist  newspaper.  Many  secessionists  were  arrested; 
prominent  men  were  found  hiding  from  Union  sympathizers  in  the 
cellars  of  their  homes;  female  Southern  sympathizers  insulted  Union 
soldiers. 

By  the  eighties  and  nineties,  Newport  was  enjoying  a  mild  boom — 
the  only  one  in  its  history.  The  coming  of  Germans  in  large  numbers, 
the  completion  of  bridges  over  the  Ohio  to  Cincinnati,  and  the  growth 
of  the  county  agricultural  population,  were  all  contributing  factors. 
The  many  small  industries  gave  place  to  a  few  large  ones  such  as 
breweries  and  a  steel  mill;  while  quick,  cheap  transportation  tempted 
more  and  more  of  its  citizens  to  go  over  the  river  for  work.  In  1921 
steel  workers  in  Newport  began  a  strike  that  lasted  for  seven  years 
(see  Labor). 

Newport  has  grown  little  within  the  past  40  years.  Many  who  might 
settle  here  prefer  the  higher  elevation  at  Fort  Thomas;  others  who  must 
work  in  Cincinnati  move  there  in  order  to  save  time  and  carfare. 

THE  SOUTHGATE  HOUSE  (visit  by  appointment),  24  E.  3rd  St., 
now  a  clubhouse,  was  built  by  Col.  Wright  Southgate  about  1821.  This 
20-room  brick  mansion  later  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Talliaferro 
family.  The  house  is  Southern  Colonial  in  design  and  has  a  winding 
staircase  of  mahogany  and  a  small  observation  tower  with  four  win- 
dows, each  less  than  one  foot  square. 


248  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

The  JAMES  TAYLOR  MANSION  (visit  by  appointment),  3rd  and 
Overton  Sts.,  is  now  a  funeral  home.  It  occupies  the  site  of  the  frame 
building  erected  in  1812  by  James  Taylor.  A  discontented  slave  burned 
the  first  home  in  1837,  and  soon  after,  Taylor  built  this  four-story  brick 
and  frame  mansion.  The  pillared  veranda  originally  faced  the  river, 
and  a  winding  driveway  formed  a  semicircle  through  the  shade  trees 
surrounding  the  house,  but  in  1888  the  house  was  remodeled  so  that 
the  back  became  the  front.  The  name  Taylor  is  still  legible  on  the 
front  door,  while  his  love  of  horses  is  shown  by  the  figure  of  a  brown 
horse  standing  on  the  spread  wings  of  an  eagle  above  the  motto  "Ready 
and  Faithful." 

The  interior  of  the  house  has  wide  halls,  a  winding  stairway,  and 
spacious  rooms  with  ceilings  16  feet  high  that  are  supported  by  wooden 
columns  of  Corinthinian  design.  The  basement,  which  was  used  to 
house  the  slaves,  has  stone  walls  that  are  two  feet  thick,  low  ceilings, 
and  small  windows  heavily  barred.  The  basement  dining  room  still 
contains  the  plank  dining  tables,  scarred  by  countless  jackknife  blades 
of  restless  slaves.  Many  notables  were  served  by  these  slaves;  among 
them  Lafayette. 

The  TAYLOR  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  123  E.  3rd  St.,  is  a 
simple  red  brick  building  with  plastered  walls,  cherry  pulpit,  and  hand- 
made wooden  pews.  It  was  erected  in  1831.  In  the  deed  to  the  lot 
appears  the  name  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  then  a  student  at  Lane 
Theological  Seminary  in  Cincinnati. 

From  the  NEWPORT  CITY  PARK,  a  six-acre  wooden  tract  on  the  point 
between  the  mouth  of  the  Licking  River  and  the  Ohio,  is  a  view  of 
downtown  Cincinnati.  The  U.S.  Government  acquired  part  of  this 
area  in  1803  by  gift  and  purchase  from  James  Taylor.  Between  1806 
and  1884  this  was  the  site  of  Newport  Barracks,  the  headquarters  in 
1812  of  the  5,000  militia  under  Col.  Isaac  Shelby  (see  Tour  5)  that 
later  marched  to  reinforce  General  Harrison  against  the  British.  The 
drills,  parades,  and  Sunday  band  concerts  grew  to  be  a  colorful  part 
of  the  town  life,  and  on  summer  Sundays  attracted  barge-loads  of 
Cincinnatians.  After  the  great  Ohio  River  flood  of  1884  had  inundated 
the  barracks,  the  post  was  moved  to  what  is  now  Fort  Thomas,  and  all 
that  remains  today  are  a  part  of  the  brick  wall  and  a  bronze  cannon 
captured  from  the  Spanish  at  the  battle  of  San  Juan  Hill. 

At  the  NATIONAL  BAND  AND  TAG  COMPANY  PLANT  (no  admission), 
720  Orchard  St.,  are  manufactured  metal  and  celluloid  identification 
bands  for  poultry,  game,  and  livestock.  Since  each  band  must  bear 
the  name  and  address  of  the  animal's  owner,  all  work  is  done  to  order 
and  a  large  percentage  of  the  business  is  carried  on  by  mail,  orders 
being  secured  through  advertisements  in  national  farm  papers  and 
magazines. 

The  CAMPBELL  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  SW.  cor.  4th  and  York  Sts., 
a  brick  structure  of  Tudor  design  with  stone  trim,  stands  on  the  plot  of 
ground  deeded  to  the  city  by  James  Taylor  for  one  shilling  in  1795. 
The  first  log  courthouse  built  here  the  following  year  was  replaced  in 


TOUR    3  249 

1815  by  a  brick  building  called  the  Palace  of  Peace.  The  present 
building,  erected  in  1884,  has  a  large  window  of  colored  glass,  a 
rotunda,  and  a  clock  tower.  On  the  elm-shaded  grounds  are  two 
cannon. 

About  3,000  men  are  employed  at  the  ANDREWS  STEEL  COMPANY 
PLANT  (no  admission),  9th  and  Lowell  Sts.  There  are  about  30  build- 
ings in  which  are  manufactured  such  varied  steel  products  as  refrigera- 
tors and  truck  bodies,  and  heavily  galvanized  sheet  metal  for  South 
American  ranchers  who  use  them  to  protect  their  crops  against  hordes 
of  grasshoppers. 

Between  Newport  and  Cynthiana,  US  27  traverses  the  outer  Blue- 
grass.  The  land  is  quite  hilly  in  some  places,  gently  rolling  in  others. 
Valleys  and  creek  beds  are  cut  deeply  into  the  limestone;  there  are 
occasional  stands  of  second-  or  third-growth  timber,  and  in  spring  the 
wild  plum,  dogwood,  and  redbud  are  much  in  evidence.  Outside  the 
towns  the  homes  are  usually  modest  farmhouses,  frequently  backed  by 
tobacco  or  cattle  barns. 

FORT  THOMAS,  4.3  m.  (852  alt.,  10,008  pop.),  is  an  attractive 
residential  city  of  secluded  streets  and  landscaped  lawns  and  gardens 
on  a  rolling  ridge  that  rises  between  the  Ohio  and  Licking  Rivers. 
Most  of  its  people  are  connected  with  the  business  and  industrial  life 
of  the  metropolitan  area. 

In  the  COVINGTON  WATERWORKS,  occupying  an  extensive  area  in 
Fort  Thomas,  water  drawn  from  the  Ohio  River  is  filtered  and  pumped 
through  supply  mains  to  reservoirs.  The  reciprocal  agreement  by  which 
Fort  Thomas  draws  its  water  supply  from  the  Covington  reservoirs  in 
return  for  the  space  occupied  by  the  waterworks  has  been  in  effect  for 
many  years. 

A  90-foot  water  tower,  of  rough-hewn  Kentucky  limestone,  South  Fort 
Thomas  Ave.  at  the  entrance  to  Fort  Thomas  Military  Reservation, 
was  presented  by  citizens  of  Covington,  Cincinnati,  and  Newport  as  a 
SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR  MEMORIAL.  It  commemorates  members  of 
the  U.S.  Infantry  who  lost  their  lives  in  that  war  and  Brig.  Gen.  Harry 
Clay  Egbert,  colonel  of  the  6th  Infantry  during  the  Cuban  campaign, 
who  was  killed  in  action  in  the  Philippines.  The  two  cannon  near  the 
tower,  excellent  specimens  of  the  workmanship  of  Spanish  gunsmiths 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  are  trophies  of  the  Cuban  campaign. 

The  FORT  THOMAS  MILITARY  RESERVATION  (open  with  restrictions) 
was  named  for  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  the  "Rock  of  Chickamauga." 
The  site  was  selected  in  1887  by  Gen.  Philip  H.  Sheridan,  and  the  first 
building,  the  commanding  officer's  quarters,  was  completed  in  1888. 
The  present  development  of  the  fort  represents  an  investment  of  nearly 
$4,000,000.  The  post  has  been  garrisoned  continuously  since  its  estab- 
lishment, except  for  a  period  in  1911  and  1912.  The  10th  U.S.  In- 
fantry (drills  daily  at  8:00  and  11:45  A.M.;  parades  Tues.  and  Thurs. 
at  4:30  P.M.,)  is  now  stationed  here,  and  this  is  the  headquarters  of 
the  eastern  Kentucky  district  of  the  CCC,  which,  consists  of  approxi- 


250  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

mately  5,000  men.  From  the  driveway  as  it  circles  the  parade  ground 
and  drill  field  is  a  wide-spreading  view  of  the  Ohio  River  Valley. 

ALEXANDRIA,  14.2  m.  (845  alt.,  424  pop.),  in  a  rich  agricultural 
area,  is  an  old  village  with  sturdy  brick  homes  and  many  trees.  On 
the  highest  promontory  of  the  county,  in  the  heart  of  the  village,  is 
the  old  brick  CAMPBELL  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  whose  clock  tower  and 
dome  are  visible  for  miles.  Many  valuable  old  records  are  housed 
here.  When  Kenton  County  was  formed  from  the  western  half  of 
Campbell  County,  the  seat  of  government  was  transferred  from  Visalia 
to  Alexandria.  Through  the  years  this  little  town  has  clung  tenaciously 
to  the  honor  of  being  the  county  seat,  though  Newport  has  its  own 
courthouse  and  criminal  and  chancery  courts,  and  keeps  the  records 
relating  to  northern  Campbell  County. 

Alexandria  is  at  the  junction  with  State  10  (see  Tour  11). 

In  GRANT'S  LICK,  22.4  m.  (1,293  pop.),  a  village  originally  set- 
tled by  the  Grant  family,  relatives  of  Daniel  Boone,  salt  was  manu- 
factured at  the  old  salt  lick  as  early  as  1793. 

The  old  COVERED  BRIDGE,  30  m.,  across  the  Licking  River,  is  500 
feet  in  length,  one  of  the  longest  wooden  bridges  in  existence. 

The  Licking  River  is  a  narrow,  deep-flowing  stream  whose  canal- 
like  lower  course  is  now  the  scene  of  commercial  activity.  Barges  from 
the  Ohio  enter  it  and  discharge  their  cargoes  at  private  landings  along 
its  banks.  The  Licking  rises  near  the  Virginia  border  and  flows  in  a 
northwesterly  course  across  the  State,  traversing  the  "big  bend"  region 
and  forming  the  dividing  line  between  Kenton  and  Campbell  Counties. 
Long  before  the  white  man  came,  it  was  the  route  by  which  the  Indians 
who  lived  north  of  the  Ohio  River  entered  the  Bluegrass  region  abound- 
ing in  deer  and  buffalo.  •  On  August  19,  1782,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Licking  occurred  the  fierce  Battle  of  Blue  Licks  (see  Tour  15),  and 
from  the  spot  where  the  Licking  joins  the  Ohio,  George  Rogers  Clark 
launched  his  avenging  drive  against  the  Indians  on  the  Little  Miami. 
Again,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  1812,  it  was  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Licking  that  the  soldiers  of  Kentucky  marched  against  the  allied 
British  and  Indians.  When  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out,  Newport 
Barracks  was  a  rallying  point  of  volunteers  who  helped  form  the  con- 
quering armies  that  crossed  the  Rio  Grande.  In  a  later  day,  when  the 
Union  was  torn  by  the  struggle  between  North  and  South,  the  banks 
of  the  Licking,  at  this  point,  were  again  a  center  of  military  activity. 

At  36  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  22  (see  Tour  13);  between  this 
point  and  Falmouth,  State  22  and  US  27  are  united. 

FALMOUTH,  39.3  m.  (525  alt.,  1,876  pop.),  known  as  the  Island 
City,  is  at  the  confluence  of  the  Main  and  South  Licking  Rivers.  Its 
tree-shaded  streets  and  well-kept  old  houses  create  an  atmosphere  of 
hospitality.  First  settled  in  1776,  the  town  was  established  in  1799 
by  Virginians  who  named  it  for  Falmouth,  Virginia.  Until  1854,  when 
the  railroad  was  extended  to  this  point,  Falmouth  was  a  village  of 
"mud  roads,  tin  lanterns,  and  tallow  dips."  All  merchandise  had  to 
be  hauled  in  covered  wagons  from  Foster's  Landing,  13  miles  distant, 


TOUR    3  251 

on  the  Ohio  River.  The  stores  were  "swapping  posts,"  where  feathers, 
rags,  tallow,  hides,  furs,  beeswax,  ginseng,  ax  handles,  and  whisky 
were  exchanged  for  calico,  sugar,  coffee,  gunpowder,  and  lead. 

One  of  the  earliest  sawmills  in  the  State,  established  at  "Fallsmouth" 
(Falmouth)  in  1793,  was  advertised  in  1794  in  the  Cincinnati  Centinel 
of  the  North-Western  Territory: 

Plank  and  scantling  of  every  kind,  delivered  at  the  mill  or  in  Cin- 
cinnati, on  the  shortest  notice.  Orders  will  be  thankfully  received  and 

pointedly  attended  to.  T 

JOHN  WALLERE. 

Fallsmouth,  Forks  of  Licking,  Dec.  15,  1794. 

N.B.  The  subscriber  will  be  down  with  a  quantity  of  planks  as  soon 
as  the  water  of  Licking  will  admit. 

In  June  1780  Captain  Bird  of  the  British  Army,  with  a  Canadian 
and  Indian  force  of  600  men,  ascended  the  Licking  River  to  the  con- 
fluence of  its  forks  at  Falmouth.  Here  he  landed  his  cannon  and  con- 
centrated his  forces.  From  this  point  he  proceeded  on  his  march  to 
the  attack  of  Ruddle's  Station,  about  seven  miles  north  of  the  present 
town  of  Paris;  his  trail  can  be  distinguished  in  many  places  by  the 
blazes  that  still  mark  the  trees. 

Pendleton  County,  of  which  Falmouth  is  the  seat,  is  sometimes  called 
"the  county  that  came  back."  At  one  time  a  third  of  its  population 
moved  away  because  of  the  decreasing  productivity  of  its  land.  Even- 
tually the  remaining  residents  adopted  new  methods  of  cultivation  and 
planted  clover  and  other  soil-enriching  crops  on  the  barren  wastes. 
Today  beekeeping  is  an  extensive  business,  annual  shipments  of  honey 
approximating  2,000,000  pounds.  A  queen-rearing  plant  is  in  operation 
in  the  region  in  which  4,000  queen  bees  are  bred  and  shipped  to  various 
parts  of  the  State. 

Falmouth  is  at  the  junction  with  State  22  (see  Tour  13). 

CYNTHIANA,  64.7  m.  (718  alt.,  4,386  pop.),  lying  in  the  outer 
Bluegrass  region,  on  the  banks  of  the  South  Fork  of  Licking  River, 
is  a  residential  town  with  a  leisurely  social  life,  and  a  background  of 
tradition,  culture,  and  wealth.  Established  in  1793  and  incorporated 
in  1806,  Cynthiana  was  named  for  Cynthia  and  Anna,  two  daughters 
of  the  first  settler,  Robert  Harrison.  The  stately  old  red-brick  HAR- 
RISON COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  Main  St.,  was  built  in  1851  in  Greek 
Revival  style,  with  an  octagonal  clock  tower.  Preserved  in  this  build- 
ing are  valuable  county  records,  many  of  them  bearing  the  handwriting 
of  prominent  statesmen,  including  Henry  Clay  who  in  1801  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  the  Quarter  Sessions  Court  at  Cynthiana. 

Directly  back  of  the  courthouse  square  is  an  old  log  house,  built  in 
1790  and  used  successively  as  a  courthouse,  law  office,  printing  office, 
photograph  gallery,  and  residence.  In  this  house  Bishop  H.  H. 
Kavanaugh  and  Ambrose  Dudley  Mann,  later  special  commissioner  of 
the  United  States  Government  to  the  German  Spates  (1846),  special 


252  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

agent  to  Hungary  (1849),  and  to  Switzerland  (1850),  served  as  ap- 
prentices. The  Guardian  of  Liberty,  Cynthiana's  first  newspaper,  was 
also  published  in  this  old  building.  A  left  wing,  also  built  of  logs,  has 
been  added  recently. 

The  JUDGE  BOYD  PLACE,  on  Pike  St.  R.  from  Main  St.,  faces  the 
river.  This  mansion,  built  in  1807  and  designed  in  the  late  Georgian 
Colonial  manner,  is  still  in  excellent  condition.  On  the  outskirts  of 
town,  on  N.  Main  St.,  is  a  BURYING  GROUND  established  in  1793;  it 
contains  many  old  gravestones. 

Cynthiana  was  the  scene  of  a  severe  battle  during  the  War  between 
the  States.  On  July  17,  1862,  Gen.  John  H.  Morgan,  with  about  800 
men,  captured  the  town  which  was  defended  by  a  Federal  force  under 
Col.  John  J.  Landrum.  Much  of  the  fighting  was  around  the  old 
covered  bridge  over  the  Licking  River. 

Again  in  1864  General  Morgan,  with  1,200  men,  captured  the  town 
after  two  days'  fighting.  Federal  forces,  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
E.  H.  Hobson,  surrendered.  On  Sunday  morning,  June  12,  1864,  the 
day  after  the  battle,  General  Morgan's  troops,  fatigued  from  the  fight- 
ing, were  suddenly  attacked  by  Gen.  Stephen  G.  Burbridge  and  a  force 
of  5,000  fresh  troops.  This  surprise  attack  resulted  in  the  retreat  of 
General  Morgan's  troops.  Most  of  the  business  section  of  Cynthiana 
was  destroyed  by  fire  during  the  fighting  and  the  loss  of  life  on  both 
sides  was  unusually  heavy. 

Cynthiana  is  at  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14). 

Left  from  Cynthiana  on  Millersburg  Rd.  to  BATTLE  GROVE  CEMETERY, 
1  m.,  the  site  of  the  second  day's  battle  on  June  12,  1864.  A  Confederate  monu- 
ment, erected  in  1869,  memorializes  the  spot.  A  monument  here  to  the  memory 
of  Harrison  County  soldiers  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  Mexican  War  was  erected 
in  1848  on  the  Courthouse  Square,  but  was  moved  to  Battle  Grove  in  1868. 

Between  Cynthiana  and  Stanford  the  route,  bordered  with  old  stone 
walls  and  shaded  by  rows  of  honeylocust  trees,  goes  through  the  inner 
Bluegrass,  one  of  the  most  fertile  agricultural  regions  in  the  country. 
It  was  a  landowner  in  this  region  who,  upon  hearing  one  night  from  a 
guest  that  there  was  a  weed  in  one  of  his  10-acre  pastures,  got  up  and 
went  hunting  with  lights  and  lanterns  until  he  found  it.  Judging  from 
the  neatness  of  the  pastures,  the  story  might  well  be  true;  barns  and 
stables  in  the  Bluegrass  are  clean  as  can  be,  the  old  elms  and  beech 
trees  in  the  pastures  show  signs  of  careful  pruning,  and  the  stone  walls 
are  neatly  and  strongly  built,  some  having  stood  for  more  than  150 
years  with  no  help  from  cement.  In  many  places  the  mansion  with  its 
attendant  barns,  trainers'  and  laborers'  quarters,  stables,  and  paddocks 
has  the  look  of  a  small  prim  village. 

In  the  early  days,  settlers  on  this  fertile  land  used  it  to  produce 
almost  all  of  their  needs — corn,  wheat,  hogs,  sheep,  cows,  horses,  blue- 
grass  for  pasture,  clover  for  hay,  and  oats  for  feed.  Hemp  and  tobacco 
were  grown  to  be  sold,  and  from  the  beginning  the  horse  was  an  im- 
portant product.  But  as  the  western  corn  and  wheat  lands  were  opened 


TOUR    3  253 

to  settlement,  the  functions  of  the  Bluegrass  farms  decreased  in  num- 
ber. Cultivation  of  tobacco  and  the  breeding  of  horses  are  predominant 
now,  the  Bluegrass  farmer  often  finding  it  cheaper  to  buy  his  oats  and 
corn  than  to  use  precious  tobacco  land  and  pasturage  for  their  cultiva- 
tion. 

PEAVINE'S  HIGHLAND  CHIEF  STUD,  the  well-known  saddle  horse  farm 
(L),  at  68.1  m.,  is  typical  of  many  in  the  Bluegrass  region.  Harrison 
Chief,  the  prize  winner  admired  by  all  lovers  of  the  Kentucky  saddle 
horse,  was  bred  here;  his  stall  is  still  preserved. 

Across  the  Licking  River  from  the  tiny  settlement  of  LAIR,  69.2  m., 
is  the  LEWIS  HUNTER  DISTILLERY  (open),  still  producing  the  same 
brand  of  whisky  it  made  in  the  1860's. 

The  EWALT  HOUSE  (open),  75.2  m.,  was  built  (R)  in  1794  by  Henry 
Ewalt,  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  On  a  200-acre  tract,  for 
which  he  paid  110  pounds  sterling,  he  erected  a  two-story  frame  house 
with  a  stone  chimney,  seven  feet  wide  and  three  feet  deep  at  the  base, 
at  each  end.  About  1808  a  stone  ell  of  four  rooms  was  added  to  the 
house;  its  walls  are  22  inches  thick.  The  interior  walls  are  paneled  in 
ash  and  walnut  and  decorated  with  hand-carved  moldings.  This  site 
has  belonged  to  the  Ewalt  family  since  1788.  In  the  old  burying  ground 
near  the  house  are  graves  of  several  members  of  the  Ewalt  family. 

At  78.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17);  between  this 
point  and  PARIS,  80.3  m.  (826  alt.,  6,204  pop.)  (see  Tour  15),  US  27 
and  State  40  are  united.  Paris  is  also  at  the  junction  with  US  68  (see 
Tour  15)  and  US  227  (see  Tour  17A). 

Between  Paris  and  Lexington,  US  27  and  US  68  are  one  route  (see 
Tour  15). 

LEXINGTON,  98.3  m.  (957  alt.,  45,736  pop.)   (see  Lexington). 

Points  of  Interest:  Homes  of  Henry  Clay,  Gen.  John  Hunt  Morgan,  Mary 
Todd  Lincoln,  and  John  Bradford;  Transylvania  College,  University  of  Kentucky, 
loose-leaf  tobacco  market. 

Lexington  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  US  25  (see 
Tour  4),  and  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

Section  b.    LEXINGTON  to  TENNESSEE  LINE;   123.1  m.  US  27 

South  of  Lexington,  0  m.,  US  27  passes  through  several  towns  of  the 
Bluegrass,  towns  that  draw  their  life  from  the  surrounding  country 
rather  than  from  industrial  establishments.  They  are  centers  of  market 
for  tobacco  and  stock,  and  distributing  points  for  farmers'  needs. 
Many  wealthy  farmers  live  in  town,  and  rent  their  two  or  three  farms 
to  others.  Busy  days  in  spring  or  a  good  spell  of  tobacco-stripping 
weather  find  the  towns  almost  deserted,  for  the  farmers  do  not  have 
time  to  loiter  on  the  courthouse  lawn.  On  Saturdays  the  streets  are 
crowded  with  farm  folk  and  gay  with  Negro  laborers  who  have  come  in 
from  their  jobs  of  stock  tending  or  field  work.  The  tobacco  season 


254  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

comes  in  late  fall  and  early  winter ;  it  is  then  that  the  town  is  crowded 
with  sellers  and  buyers  whose  trucks  and  wagons,  canvas-covered,  creak 
along  the  country  lanes  and  highways  under  loads  of  cured,  stripped, 
and  tightly  pressed  white  hurley. 

ALLEGHAN  HALL  (R),  2.7  m.,  with  its  massive  Ionic  columns  and 
fine  proportions,  is  a  good  example  of  the  Greek  Revival  type  of  archi- 
tecture in  Kentucky.  A  stone  fence  covered  with  honeysuckle  and  roses 
encloses  the  tree-shaded  lawn,  and  iron  gates  guard  the  circular  drive- 
way. This  site  was  part  of  a  2,000-acre  tract  that  formerly  belonged 
to  John  Campbell  of  Louisville.  Ownership  of  the  land  changed  several 
times  before  William  Pettit  bought  it  and  built  Alleghan,  just  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  War  between  the  States.  During  the  war  Pettit 
was  driven  out  of  the  State,  and  his  home  was  occupied  by  Federal 
forces.  There  is  a  story  that  upon  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  Pettit 
drove  to  Lexington,  withdrew  his  money  from  the  bank  in  gold,  and 
buried  it  on  his  place.  He  died  shortly  after  his  return  from  his  war- 
time exile,  and  in  his  last  hours  is  said  to  have  made  repeated  but 
futile  attempts  to  reveal  the  hiding  place  of  the  treasure. 

NICHOLASVILLE,  12.5  m.  (947  alt.,  3,128  pop.),  seat  of  Jessamine 
County,  resembles  a  Kentucky  town  of  earlier  days.  Many  old  houses 
border  its  quiet,  tree-shaded  streets.  It  was  first  settled  in  1798  and 
named  for  Col.  George  Nicholas,  a  native  of  Williamsburg,  Virginia, 
and  a  member  of  the  convention  that  met  in  Danville  in  1792  to  frame 
a  State  constitution.  A  geography,  written  by  Jedidiah  Morse  and 
published  in  1789  at  Elizabeth  town,  New  Jersey,  contains  the  following 
description  of  this  region: 

"Elkhorn  River,  a  branch  of  the  Kentucky,  from  the  southeast, 
waters  a  country  fine  beyond  description.  Indeed,  the  country  east  and 
south  of  this,  including  the  headwaters  of  Licking  River,  Hickman's  and 
Jessamine  Creeks,  and  the  remarkable  bend  in  Kentucky  River,  may 
be  called  an  extensive  garden  .  .  .  The  banks,  or  rather  precipices,  of 
the  Kentucky  and  Dick's  (Dix)  Rivers  are  to  be  reckoned  among  the 
natural  curiosities  of  this  country.  Here  the  astonished  eye  beholds 
300  or  400  feet  of  solid  perpendicular  rocks — in  some  parts  of  the  lime- 
stone kind  and  in  others  of  fine  white  marble,  curiously  checkered  with 
strata  of  astonishing  regularity.  These  rivers  have  the  appearance  of 
deep  artificial  canals.  Their  high  rocky  banks  are  covered  with  red 
cedar  groves." 

Right  from  Nicholasville  on  the  Old  Frankfort  Pike  to  the  JOSEPH  DRAKE 
HOUSE,  5  m.,  which,  according  to  legend,  was  built  prior  to  1770  by  Joe  Drake, 
described  as  a  descendant  and  heir  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  the  English  admiral. 
The  red  brick  house  contains  seven  rooms  with  beams  and  sills  of  hand-hewn 
logs  and  massive  walnut  mantels  and  cabinets.  Parts  of  the  house  are  joined  by 
large  crude  iron  spikes,  instead  of  the  wooden  pegs  found  elsewhere.  The  use  of 
brick  and  iron  makes  its  alleged  age  questionable.  Across  the  road  on  land  belong- 
ing to  the  estate  is  an  old  burying  ground  in  the  midst  of  a  clump  of  trees.  In 
the  center  stands  a  reproduction  of  the  original  gravestone,  bearing  this  inscription: 


TOUR    3  255 

JOSEPH  DRAKE 

of 

Buckland,  Monaghorum  England 
Born  1694 
Died  1777 

Beloved  Husband  of  Rebecca  Hamble  of 
Bodwin  Cornwall,  England. 

In  a  primitive  setting  is  GLASS'S  MILL,  6  m.,  erected  in  1782,  and  said  to  have 
been  the  first  gristmill  in  Kentucky.  It  later  became  a  paper  mill,  and  in  1849 
was  converted  into  a  distillery  which  is  no  longer  in  use. 

South  of  Nicholasville  the  highway  descends  gradually  along  the 
banks  of  Hickman  Creek  to  the  Kentucky  River. 

The  CAMP  NELSON  UNITED  STATES  MILITARY  CEMETERY  (L), 
19.8  m.,  contains  the  graves  of  more  than  500  soldiers  who  lost  their 
lives  at  the  Battles  of  Perryville  and  Richmond  during  the  War  between 
the  States. 

FORMER  CAMP  NELSON  (L)  21.3  m.,  is  at  the  mouth  of  Hickman 
Creek;  this  was  one  of  the  leading  concentration  camps  for  Federal 
troops  and  munitions  during  the  War  between  the  States.  It  was  also 
the  main  camp  in  the  State  for  the  enlistment  of  Negro  troops  and  a 
refuge  for  Negro  slaves.  Established  in  1863  and  named  for  Gen. 
William  Nelson,  it  remained  a  military  camp  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  highway  crosses  the  new  concrete  bridge  over  the  Kentucky 
River.  Nearby  are  the  stone  abutments  of  an  old  covered  bridge  re- 
cently torn  down.  It  was  considered  an  engineering  triumph  at  the 
time  of  its  construction  in  1838,  being  then  one  of  the  longest  wooden 
bridges  in  the  United  States.  The  length  was  240  feet  and  no  metal 
was  used  in  the  construction. 

At  24.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  152. 

Right  on  this  road  to  the  junction  with  an  unmarked  graveled  road,  2.6  m. 
Right  on  this  road  to  CHIMNEY  ROCK,  5  m.,  a  remarkable  formation  125  feet 
high,  carved  by  slow  erosion  from  the  limestone  of  the  Kentucky  River  cliffs. 

At  7  m.  is  HERRINGTON  LAKE  (fishing,  swimming;  motorboats,  $1  an  hour 
or  $3  a  day ;  furnished  cabins).  This  lake  was  formed  in  1925  when  the  Kentucky 
Utilities  Company  completed  the  construction  of  a  dam  across  Dix  River  near  its 
confluence  with  the  Kentucky  River  (see  Tour  15).  Herrington  Lake,  35  miles  in 
length,  covering  3,600  acres  and  ranging  in  depth  to  250  feet,  has  a  picturesque  set- 
ting amid  cliffs,  rolling  hills,  upland  farms,  and  forests. 

In  BRYANTSVILLE,  26.2  m.  (150  pop.),  is  (R)  BURNT  TAVERN 
(open),  a  popular  roadhouse  in  stagecoach  days;  it  was  so  named  be- 
cause it  was  twice  destroyed  by  fire.  One  wing,  which  was  saved,  is 
now  (1939)  more  than  100  years  old.  The  porch  across  the  front  of 
the  present  two-story  brick  building  is  a  later  addition.  This  tavern 
was  the  birthplace  of  Henry  Smith,  Provisional  Governor  of  Texas 
(1824  and  again  in  1837-38),  who  was  a  son  of  the  original  owner, 
Edward  Smith  of  Virginia. 

CAMP  DICK  ROBINSON,  28.4  m.,  established  in  1861  over  the  protest 
of  Beriah  Magomn,  then  Governor  of  Kentucky,  was  the  first  Federal 


256  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Recruiting  station  south  of  the  Ohio  River.  Gen.  William  Nelson, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  camp,  had  his  headquarters  in  (L)  the  old 
DICK  ROBINSON  HOUSE  (open),  a  very  long  two-story  frame  building. 
In  the  central  third,  which  is  recessed,  is  a  two-story  galleried  porch, 
topped  with  a  gabled  pediment. 

Right  from  Camp  Dick  Robinson  on  State  34  to  a  junction,  1m.,  with  an  un- 
marked road;  right  on  this  road  to  the  BIRTHPLACE  or  CARRY  NATION  (open), 
4  m.,  at  Pope's  Landing  on  Herrington  Lake.  The  long  one-story  house  of  logs, 
now  clapboarded,  has  outside  end  chimneys  and  rear  additions.  The  house  has  a 
pedimented  Doric  portico  of  Greek  Revival  design. 

Carry  Amelia  Moore  Nation,  the  temperance  agitator,  was  born  here  November 
25,  1846.  George  Moore,  her  father,  was  a  prosperous  stock  dealer  and  her  mother 
a  descendant  of  Alexander  Campbell,  founder  of  the  Christian  Church.  About 
1853  the  family  moved  to  Glen  Artney  in  Woodford  County  (see  Tour  14)  and 
two  years  later  to  Cass  County,  Mo.,  where  for  a  few  years  Carry  attended  a 
boarding  school.  She  was  married  in  1867,  but  because  of  her  husband's  excessive 
drinking  the  marriage  proved  to  be  an  exceptionally  wnhappy  one  and  was  of 
short  duration.  In  1877  she  was  married  to  David  Nation,  a  lawyer,  minister  of 
the  Christian  Church,  and  editor  of  the  Warrensburg  Journal.  After  25  years  of 
married  life,  he  divorced  her  in  a  spasm  of  revolt  against  her  saloon-smashing  activ- 
ities. Between  1900  and  1910  Carry,  an  ardent  member  of  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  became  internationally  known  for  her  hatchet -wielding  against 
saloons,  in  which  she  indulged  until  a  short  time  before  her  death  in  1911. 

BURDETT'S  KNOB  (1,090  alt.)  28.9  m.,  is  (L)  a  monadnock— a 
hill  of  resistant  rock  projecting  from  a  plain  that  has  been  greatly 
reduced  by  erosion.  It  was  used  in  pioneer  times  by  settlers  as  a  look- 
out. 

The  FORK  CHURCH,  29.2  m.,  is  (L)  a  small  brick  structure,  on  the 
site  of  the  log  church,  built  in  1782  by  Lewis  Craig  and  other  Baptist 
pioneers. 

LANCASTER,  35.6  m.  (1,032  alt.,  1,630  pop.),  seat  of  Garrard 
County,  like  many  southern  towns,  is  built  around  a  public  square  in 
the  center  of  which  is  a  small  park.  On  one  corner  is  the  red-brick 
GARRARD  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE  designed  in  the  Greek  Revival  style. 
The  business  section  encircles  the  park,  from  which  the  tree-shaded 
streets  radiate.  The  home  demonstration  agents  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  have  been  reviving  the  art  of  rug-hooking  in  the  county 
and  some  of  the  women  are  now  placing  their  products  on  sale.  (Apply 
Home  Demonstration  office  in  courthouse  for  Information.)  The  re- 
turns from  this  home  industry  are  very  low  but  the  housewives  are 
willing  to  work  at  it  for  the  sake  of  bringing  in  even  a  small  amount 
of  cash.  The  town  was  settled  in  1798  by  pioneers  from  Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania,  who  designed  and  named  it  for  their  native  city.  When 
the  town  founders  met  to  choose  a  site,  Capt.  William  Buford  persuaded 
them  to  build  on  his  land  at  the  crossroads,  promising  to  donate  land 
for  a  public  square  and  courthouse,  and  to  provide  water  for  all  those 
attending  court  during  his  life.  The  numerous  public  wells  that  sur- 
rounded the  square  until  a  few  years  ago  were  the  result  of  this  promise. 
The  first  courthouse,  built  in  the  center  of  the  square  in  1798  by 


TOUR    3  257 

Stephen  Giles  Letcher  and  Benjamin  Letcher  for  the  sum  of  410  pounds 
sterling,  was  torn  down  in  1868  and  the  present  courthouse  erected. 

The  BRADLEY  HOUSE  (L),  on  a  spacious  lawn  on  Main  St.,  opposite 
the  high  school,  is  a  red  brick  Gothic-style  structure  with  seven  gables. 
This  was  formerly  the  home  of  William  O.  Bradley,  Governor  of  Ken- 
tucky (1895-99). 

The  old  LETCHER  HOUSE  (open),  on  Maple  Ave.,  is  (R)  a  one-and- 
one-half  story  clapboarded  structure  remodeled  from  a  double  log  house 
that  was  erected  in  1789  by  John  Boyle,  who  later  served  as  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Kentucky  Court  of  Appeals  (1810-26)  and  U.S.  Repre- 
sentative (1803-09).  When  Boyle  vacated  his  log  cabin  home  here, 
Samuel  McKee,  who  succeeded  Boyle  in  Congress  (1809-17),  moved 
in  with  his  bride.  George  Robertson,  elected  to  the  U.S.  Congress  in 
1817  and  Chief  Justice  of  Kentucky  from  1829  to  1843,  later  brought 
his  bride  to  this  little  house.  Robert  P.  Letcher,  a  young  lawyer  of 
Garrard  County,  moved  in  when  Robertson  left  for  Washington. 
Letcher  served  as  a  Member  of  Congress  from  1823  to  1833  and  Gov- 
ernor of  Kentucky  from  1840  to  1844;  in  1850  he  was  appointed  Am- 
bassador to  Mexico  by  President  Zachary  Taylor. 

1.  Left  from  Lancaster  on  State  52,  an  improved  road,  to  the  junction  with  the 
Walker  Pike,  8.4  ra.;  R.  1  ra.  on  this  road  to  the  SITE  or  THE  KENNEDY  HOUSE. 
So  many  parts  of  the  building  have  been  carried  away  by  antique  dealers  and 
souvenir  hunters  that  only  the  foundation  remains.    Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  is  said 
to  have  visited  this  place  when  she  was  in  Kentucky  gathering  material  for  Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin,  which  was  published  (1851-52)  first  as  a  serial  in  The  National  Era. 
Her  trips  to  Kentucky  were  made  while  she  was  a  resident  of  Cincinnati  (1832-50). 
Gen.  Thomas  Kennedy  owned  200  slaves  and  15,000  acres  of  land,  one  of  the  largest 
plantations  in  the  South.     General  Kennedy's  daughter,  Nancy  Kennedy  Letcher, 
who  lived  in  this  house  and  reared  a  family  of  10  children,  is  said  to  have  been 
the  inspiration  for  the  little  Eva  of  the  story.    Lewis  Clark,  a  Negro  slave  owned 
by  General  Kennedy,  was  the  George  Harper  of  the  story.     After  the  death  of 
General  Kennedy,  Clark,  who  feared  that  he  would  be  sold  on  the  New  Orleans 
slave  market,  fled  to  Cambridge,  Mass.,  where  he  lived  for  many  years  in  the 
family  of  Mrs.  Stowe's  sister;  his  descriptions  of  old  slaves  are  said  to  have  sug- 
gested to  Mrs.  Stowe  the  character  of  Uncle  Tom. 

At  11.6  m.  on  State  52  is  PAINT  LICK  (250  pop.),  a  hamlet  near  the  site  of 
Paint  Lick  Station,  which  was  established  in  1782  and  so  named  because  the  first 
settlers  found  Indian  symbols  painted  in  bright  colors  on  trees  and  stones  along 
the  creek  and  around  the  near-by  salt  lick. 

PAINT  CREEK  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  designed  in  the  Gothic  manner,  was 
erected  in  1872  to  replace  the  second  church  on  this  site.  The  original  meeting 
house  was  built  of  hewn  logs  in  1782,  immediately  after  the  pioneers  had  reached 
Kentucky.  Among  the  prominent  clergymen  of  the  period  who  occupied  the  pulpit 
of  this  little  meeting  house  were  James  Blythe  and  the  Rev.  David  Rice,  a  min- 
ister of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  A  communion  cup  with  gold  markings,  easily 
mistaken  for  a  shaving  mug,  and  a  grease  lamp  belonging  to  the  first  church  are 
kept  in  the  present  building.  The  BURIAL  GROUND  adjoins  the  church.  In  the 
shade  of  its  maple  trees  are  the  graves  of  several  veterans  of  the  Revolution,  in- 
cluding the  GRAVE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  KENNEDY. 

2.  Left  from  Lancaster  on  State  39,  an  improved  road,  to  the  SITE  OF  GIL- 
BERT'S CREEK  MEETING  HOUSE,  2.8  m.,  erected  by  members  of  the  Traveling  Bap- 
tist Church.    In  1781  about  600  people  left  Spotsylvania  County,  Virginia,  under 
the  leadership  of  Capt.  William  Ellis  and  Lewis  Craig,  a  devout  young  minister 


258  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

who  had  long  chafed  against  what  he  considered  the  injustice  of  the  church  laws 
of  Virginia.  On  reaching  the  Gilbert's  Creek  settlement,  the  company  organized 
their  church  and  erected  the  little  log  meeting  house  that  became  the  first  Baptist 
Church  in  the  State.  The  building  was  loopholed  and  the-  settlers  brought  their 
rifles  with  them  when  they  came  to  worship.  When  they  bowed  in  prayer  two  of 
the  men  stood  armed  at  the  door  to  guard  against  surprise  attacks  by  Indians. 
This  building  was  used  by  various  denominations.  Alexander  Campbell,  founder 
of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  or  Christian  Church,  and  the  Reverend  David  Rice,  a 
pioneer  Presbyterian  minister,  both  preached  here. 

In  1783  Lewis  Craig  and  a  part  of  his  congregation  moved  to  South  Elkhorn, 
about  five  miles  southeast  of  Lexington,  where  they  established  the  first  Baptist 
church  in  central  Kentucky.  The  church  at  Gilbert's  Creek  declined  and  by  1865 
the  brick  building  that  had  succeeded  the  little  log  church  had  become  a  ruin. 
The  foundation  of  the  church  and  its  adjoining  graveyard,  with  a  few  stately  old 
walnut  and  cedar  trees  standing  watch,  are  all  that  remain  on  the  hill  overlooking 
Gilbert's  Creek. 

The  WILLIAM  OWSLEY  HOUSE  (R),  36.5  m.f  was  built  in  1813  on 
an  eminence  overlooking  the  Wilderness  Road.  The  house  is  a  two- 
and-one-half  story  brick  structure  of  Georgian  Colonial  design  with  a 
two-story  portico.  William  Owsley,  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1844-48), 
lived  here  until  1843  when  he  moved  to  Boyle  County.  This  house  was 
also  the  home  of  Robert  P.  Letcher  for  a  few  years. 

STANFORD,  44.6  m.  (1,032  alt.,  1,544  pop.),  an  attractive  resi- 
dential town  with  a  leisurely  life,  has  many  old  houses  bordering  its 
quiet  tree-shaded  streets.  It  is  the  seat  of  Lincoln  County,  one  of  the 
three  original  counties  of  the  Kentucky  District  of  Virginia  formed  in 
1780.  The  red  brick  LINCOLN  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  Main  St.,  built 
about  1915  to  replace  an  earlier  structure,  has  Ionic  porticoes  on  the 
front  and  sides  and  a  tall  clock  tower  which  dominates  the  town.  The 
courthouse  contains  sheepskin  documents  dating  back  to  the  pioneer 
era  of  the  State. 

Stanford,  founded  by  act  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  in  1786,  is  near 
the  SITE  OF  ST.  ASAPH  or  Logan's  Fort,  established  by  Col.  Benjamin 
Logan  in  1775.  When  their  efforts  to  capture  it  proved  unsuccessful, 
Indians  named  the  settlement  Standing  Fort,  which  was  later  con- 
tracted to  Stanford.  On  the  morning  of  May  20,  1777,  when  the 
women  of  the  fort  were  outside  of  the  gate  milking  the  cows,  and  the 
men  were  acting  as  a  guard,  they  were  fired  upon  by  more  than  a 
hundred  Indians  who  had  concealed  themselves  in  the  thick  canebrake. 
One  man  was  killed  and  two  were  wounded;  the  remainder  made  their 
escape  into  the  fort  and  closed  the  gate.  Harrison,  one  of  the  wounded 
men,  ran  a  few  paces  and  fell.  Colonel  Logan,  ignoring  the  danger, 
dashed  out  of  the  gate  to  the  spot  where  the  wounded  man  lay,  threw 
him  on  his  shoulders  and,  amidst  a  shower  of  rifle  balls,  made  a  safe 
retreat  into  the  fort  which  was  now  vigorously  assaulted  by  the  Indians. 
When  the  scarcity  of  powder  and  balls  made  additional  supplies  essen- 
tial, Logan  and  two  companions,  under  cover  of  darkness,  slipped 
through  the  Indian  lines  and  with  almost  incredible  rapidity  made  the 
journey  over  the  mountains  and  through  the  valley  to  the  Holston 
River  settlements,  returning  on  the  tenth  day  with  the  ammunition. 


TOUR    3  259 

A  few  days  later  Colonel  Bowman  with  a  party  of  men  arrived  at  St. 
Asaph's  and  compelled  the  Indians  to  retire. 

1.  Right  from  Stanford  on  US  150,  an  improved  road,  to  BRIGHT'S  INN  (open 
on  request),  1.5  m.,  a  two-story  brick  and  stone  building  (R).    The  brick  ell  was 
added  in  1916  to  replace  a  log  house  built  in  1816  and  was  operated  as  a  tavern 
by  Capt.  John  Bright,  son  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier.     Captain  Bright's  business 
flourished;  in  1820  he  added  the  stone  building  that  still  stands.    On  the  premises 
he  built  a  blacksmith  shop,  stables,  slave  cabins,  coach  house,  and  a  horse-powered 
gristmill.    A  cave  served  as  a  cooling  plant. 

The  stone  section  of  Bright's  Inn  has  a  central  hall  10  feet  wide  and  100  feet 
long,  with  10  rooms  on  each  side.  This  hall,  with  its  huge  fireplace,  was  a  favorite 
gathering  place  and  re-echoed  to  the  dance  music  of  several  generations.  The 
cuisine  of  the  old  days  was  famous  for  its  corn  pone  baked  in  a  Dutch  oven,  and 
roasts  of  venison,  pork,  and  beef  cooked  on  the  spit.  Meals  were  25^  with  whisky 
thrown  in,  or  metheglin,  a  drink  made  of  honey  and  vinegar,  for  the  temperate. 
Captain  Bright,  the  jovial  host,  weighed  340  pounds,  but  in  spite  of  his  size  often 
rode  horseback,  and  insisted  that  his  horse,  Nigger,  was  the  fastest  in  Kentucky 
considering  the  weight  it  carried. 

2.  Left  from  Stanford  on  US  ISO  to  the  WHITLEY  HOUSE  (open)  10  m.,  stand- 
ing (R)  well  back  from  the  highway.     This  structure,  built  about  1783  by  Col. 
William  Whitley,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  brick  house  in  Kentucky;  it  is  now 
(1939)  being  restored  and  is  to  be  included  within  a  State  park. 

This  tall  two-story  structure,  with  walls  laid  in  Flemish  bond  and  with  small 
windows  placed  high  above  the  floor,  is  an  interesting  example  of  pioneer  archi- 
tecture. Restoration  of  the  house  has  included  removal  of  a  comparatively  enor- 
mous two-story  pedimented  Doric  portico  that  was  probably  added  after  the 
family  had  prospered.  Over  the  simple  entrance  door  are  the  initials  of  Colonel 
Whitley  in  brick;  the  initials  of  his  wife  are  over  the  rear  door.  The  interior  ex- 
hibits much  more  elegance  than  the  exterior.  Over  the  mantel  in  the  parlor  are 
13  small  panels  symbolizing  the  Thirteen  Colonies,  and  one  entire  side  of  the  room 
has  elaborately  carved  paneling.  The  handrail  of  the  stairway  balustrade  is  curved 
downward  and  outward  to  form  the  newel.  Other  unusual  features  of  the  house 
include  the  high  placement  of  the  first  floor  windows  to  prevent  the  Indians  from 
seeing  the  occupants  and  a  third  floor  ballroom,  once  furnished  as  a  courtroom, 
which  contained  a  secret  hiding  place  for  women  and  children.  Records  show  that 
Whitley  paid  for  the  bricks  and  masonry  with  one  farm,  for  the  liquor  furnished 
to  the  laborers  with  another,  and  for  the  carving  (done  by  a  man  named  Swope) 
with  still  another  tract. 

William  Whitley,  born  in  Amherst  County,  Va.,  August  IS,  1749,  was  a  skilled 
Indian  fighter.  In  this  home,  a  favorite  with  the  important  persons  of  his  day, 
George  Rogers  Clark  and  Gov.  Isaac  Shelby  were  guests.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  in 
his  book,  the  Winning  of  the  West,  describes  this  house  as  the  center  of  the  reli- 
gious, political,  and  social  life  of  the  Transylvania  region,  and  the  aristocratic  home 
of  the  Wilderness  Road  (see  Tour  4A).  Though  he  was  more  than  60  years  old 
when  the  War  of  1812  broke  out,  Colonel  Whitley,  disregarding  his  previous  service 
and  rank,  enlisted  as  a  private  and  was  killed  in  the  Battle  of  the  River  Thames 
in  1813. 

At  11.8  m.  on  US  ISO  is  CRAB  ORCHARD  (919  alt.,  576  pop.),  on  the  old  Wil- 
derness Road  (see  Tour  4A),  early  noted  as  a  watering  place  because  of  the  num- 
ber, variety,  and  excellence  of  its  mineral  springs.  The  friendliness,  hospitality,  and 
old-fashioned  manners  in  this  quiet  resort  are  in  keeping  with  its  old  buildings. 
Crab  Orchard  Salts,  a  highly  valued  medicinal  remedy,  were  produced  here  by 
evaporation. 

3.  Left  from  Stanford  on  the  Ottenheim  Pike,  a  graveled  road,  to  the  village  of 
OTTENHEIM,  6  m.,  a  tiny  settlement  established  in  1885  by  Jacob  Ottenheim, 
steamboat  and  railroad  passenger  agent.     The  community,  composed  of  the  de- 


260  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

scendants  of  Swiss,  Austrians,  and  Germans — the  latter  predominating — has  been 
noted  for  the  production  of  wine  and  Swiss  cheese. 

South  of  Stanford,  US  27  again  penetrates  the  outer  Bluegrass, 
though  the  terrain  differs  from  the  outer  Bluegrass  to  the  north  in  that 
it  is  flatter  and  has  low  abrupt  knobs  instead  of  shaggy  hills.  There 
are  fewer  horses  and  more  sheep  here  than  in  the  inner  Bluegrass;  and 
the  fields  are  not  so  fine.  Violets,  wild  roses,  and  daisies  bloom  in 
spring  and  early  summer;  the  yellow-white  of  honeysuckle  and  scarlet 
of  trumpet  vine  are  frequently  seen  on  the1  fences,  and  in  the  fields 
bloom  Queen  Anne's  Lace,  wild  aster,  and  goldenrod. 

Through  HALL'S  GAP,  51.5  m.  (1,200  alt.),  on  the  dividing  line 
between  the  Bluegrass  area  and  the  mountains,  an  important  road  has 
run  since  pioneer  times.  An  observation  tower  (L),  1,000  feet  from 
the  highway,  affords  a  view  on  a  clear  day  of  five  counties.  The  view 
embraces  mile  upon  mile  of  bluegrass  rolling  away  to  the  north,  and 
toward  the  south  and  east  the  first  foothills  of  the  mountains  are  out- 
lined against  the  sky. 

EUBANK,  65.9  m.  (1,172  alt.,  334  pop.),  is  in  an  agricultural  re- 
gion noted  for  the  quantity  of  buckwheat  grown. 

SOMERSET,  80.1  m.  (879  alt.,  5,506  pop.),  a  growing  railroad  town, 
was  named  for  the  Duke  of  Somerset  and  made  the  seat  of  Pulaski 
County  by  court  order  in  1801.  Built  on  the  sunny  side  of  a  sloping 
ridge,  where  surrounding  terrain  embraces  characteristics  of  both  knobs 
and  mountain  areas,  Somerset  is  known  as  the  Gateway  to  the  Moun- 
tains. Along  its  main  street  are  small  shops,  motion-picture  houses, 
and  a  $250,000  hotel,  opened  in  1930.  MEMORIAL  SQUARE,  Main  St., 
is  dedicated  to  Somerset's  distinguished  citizens,  one  of  them  was 
Edwin  P.  Morrow,  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1919-23).  Somerset  has 
one  of  the  outstanding  school  plants  of  the  State;  the  group  of  build- 
ings, which  include  CARNEGIE  LIBRARY,  SOMERSET  HIGH  SCHOOL,  and 
SOMERSET  GRADE  SCHOOL,  form  an  imposing  block  in  this  secluded 
mountain  town.  Cyrenius  Wait  is  credited  with  producing  in  Somerset, 
about  1840,  the  first  raw  silk  in  Kentucky. 

Somerset  is  at  the  junction  with  State  80  (see  Tour  18). 

PISGAH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  86  m,,  on  an  eminence  about  200 
yards  R.  of  the  highway,  is  one  of  the  State's  oldest  churches.  The 
small  brick  structure  is  rectangular  in  shape,  with  a  low  square  bell 
tower.  A  well-kept  cemetery  adjoining  the  church  is  the  resting  place 
of  pioneers. 

US  27  crosses  the  Cumberland  River,  89.5  m.t  on  a  bridge  (toll  30$). 

BURNSIDE,  89.6  m.  (705  alt.,  914  pop.),  straggling  along  the  banks 
of  the  Cumberland  River  and  its  confluent  South  Fork,  clings  to  the 
steep  slope  of  a  hill.  The  business  section  of  the  town  lies  at  the  hill's 
base.  Here  the  route  crosses  the  old  corduroy  road,  built  and  used  by 
Federal  troops  during  the  War  between  the  States.  Originally  known 
as  Point  Isabel,  the  town  was  renamed  for  the  Union  general  who  made 


TOUR    3  26l 

this  his  headquarters.  GENERAL  BURNSIDE'S  HEADQUARTERS  (R)  is  a 
rambling  two-story  frame  building  with  a  two-story  porch. 

Burnside  is  at  the  junction  with  State  90  (see  Tour  20). 

The  highway,  following  a  ridge  that  rises  at  times  to  an  altitude  of 
1,300  feet,  leads  through  rugged,  wooded  hills  and  along  winding 
streams. 

PARKER'S  LAKE,  104.3  m.  (1,256  alt.,  200  pop.),  is  at  the  junc- 
tion with  State  90  (see  Tour  4B). 

WHITLEY  CITY,  112.2  m.  (1,322  alt.,  1,200  pop.),  seat  of  Mc- 
Creary  County,  is  one  of  the  highest  county  seats  in  the  State.  Until 
the  formation  of  the  county  in  1912,  this  was  one  of  Kentucky's  most 
isolated  regions;  the  people,  dwelling  in  log  cabins,  led  a  primitive  life 
in  their  small  self-sufficing  communities.  Hostilities  frequently  de- 
veloped, and  feuds  (see  Tour  19)  were  common.  With  the  building  of 
US  27,  Whitley  City  developed  rapidly  into  a  progressive  community 
with  modern  schools,  churches,  and  a  new  fireproof  brick  courthouse. 

STEARNS,  114.9  m.  (2,176  pop.),  is  the  center  of  a  thriving  lumber 
industry  and  a  shipping  point  for  both  the  coal  and  timber  of  the 
region. 

PINE  KNOT,  118.4  m.  (1,410  alt.,  500  pop.),  until  1913  the  seat 
of  McCreary  County,  lies  in  the  foothills  of  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains. There  is  little  arable  land  in  the  surrounding  region  except  that 
along  the  creek  bottoms  and  on  top  of  the  level  plateaus. 

US  27  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  123.1  m.,  at  a  point  146  miles 
north  of  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  (see  Tenn.  Tour  6). 


Tour  4 


( Cincinnati,  Ohio )  — Covington — Georgetown — Lexington — Richmond 
— Corbin— Williamsburg—  (Jellico,  Tenn.);  US  25  and  25W  Ohio 
Line  to  Tennessee  Line,  223.7  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

Cincinnati,  New  Orleans  &  Texas-Pacific  R.R.  roughly  parallels  route  between  Cin- 
cinnati and  Lexington,  and  Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  between  Richmond  and 
Jellico. 
All  types  of  accommodations  in  cities;  limited  elsewhere. 

US  25,  locally  called  the  Eastern  Dixie  Highway,  reveals  a  typical 
cross-section  of  Kentucky.  It  crosses  the  low  wooded  hills  of  the 
Ohio  River,  passes  rolling  orchard  land  and  prosperous  country  estates 
with  waving  bluegrass  meadows,  and  between  the  great  gorge  cut  by  the 
Kentucky  River  and  the  rugged  foothills  of  the  Appalachians,  follows, 
Daniel  Boone's  Wilderness  Road. 


262  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Section,  a.    OHIO  LINE  to  LEXINGTON;  84.1  m. 

US  25-42  crosses  the  Ohio  Line,  0  m.,  on  the  southern  outskirts  of 
Cincinnati  (see  Ohio  Tour  22),  on  the  OHIO  RIVER  SUSPENSION  BRIDGE 
(toll  15$).  This  bridge  with  its  1,057-foot  middle  span  was  built  in 
1867  by  John  A.  Roebling,  who  also  designed  New  York's  Brooklyn 
Bridge. 

COVINGTON,  0.5  m.  (513  alt.,  65,252  pop.)   (see  Covington). 

Points  of  Interest:  Carneal  House,  Devou  Park,  Monte  Casino  Chapel,  St. 
Mary's  Cathedral,  Latonia  Race  Track,  Baker-Hunt  Foundation,  and  William's 
Natural  History  Collection. 

Covington  is  at  the  junction  with  US  42  (see  Tour  12). 

Right  from  Covington  on  Main  St.  to  the  junction  with  State  20,  0.2  m.;  L.  on 
State  20  to  LUDLOW,  2.3  m.  (6,485  pop.),  overlooking  part  of  Cincinnati's  indus- 
trial waterfront  from  its  slightly  elevated  position  before  the  high  Kentucky  hills 
that  press  it  against  the  Ohio  River.  Ludlow  had  a  few  settlers  in  the  1790's,  but 
was  not  chartered  as  a  village  until  1864.  Today  it  is  an  industrial  city  that  manu- 
factures furniture,  compressing  machines,  and  brass  and  electrical  apparatus;  the 
shops  of  the  Southern  Railway  are  also  here. 

MASONIC  LODGE  HALL  (open  to  Masons),  on  Closson  St.,  Greek  Revival  in  style, 
was  built  in  1832  by  Simon  Kenner  of  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  as  a  summer  residence. 
The  story-and-a-half  brick  structure  has  a  central  hall,  44  feet  long,  flanked  on 
either  side  by  spacious  rooms,  trimmed  in  fine  woodwork.  In  1885  this  property 
was  bought  by  A.  B.  Closson,  from  whom  the  Unity  Lodge  of  Freemasons  pur- 
chased it  in  1924. 

ELMWOOD  HALL  (open  weekdays,  8-6),  244  Forrest  Ave.,  is  a  low,  compact,  stuc- 
coed building,  built  of  stone  and  brick  in  1819  by  Thomas  Carneal.  Its  hip  roof 
is  topped  with  an  observation  deck  16  feet  square.  The  building,  now  occupied 
by  the  Eda  E.  Thomas  Candy  Company,  originally  faced  the  narrow  driveway 
that  leads  from  the  street.  The  fagade,  with  its  recessed  Doric  portico  and  its 
small-paned  windows,  is  still  handsome.  (The  original  portal,  with  fanlights  and 
side  lights,  is  gone.)  The  central  room  on  the  north  side  was  formerly  a  recep- 
tion hall.  Most  of  the  fireplaces,  with  brick  hearths,  marble  borders,  and  mantel- 
pieces, remain. 

In  its  early  days  Elmwood  Hall  estate,  stretching  down-river  for  2.5  miles,  was 
densely  covered  with  beech,  oak,  walnut,  and  elm  trees;  it  became  a  vast  park 
and  bird  sanctuary,  and  tame  deer,  bison,  and  elk  grazed  on  its  1,000  acres.  Bril- 
liant parties  and  receptions  took  place  here.  In  1827  William  Bullock,  owner  of 
the  Piccadilly  Museum  in  London,  bought  the  place  as  a  site  for  a  dream  city, 
which  he  wanted  to  call  Hygeia.  Bullock  went  back  to  England  for  awhile  and 
wrote  a  book  about  his  American  travels  that  featured  an  account  of  the  model 
city — it  was  to  have  "cultural"  gardens  along  the  river,  streets  with  imposing 
names,  inns,  theaters,  baths,  and  even  a  brewery.  He  then  returned  to  Elmwood 
Hall  and  gave  a  long  series  of  balls  and  gatherings,  in  honor  of  such  personages 
as  Mrs.  Frances  Trollope,  Henry  Clay,  New  York  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton,  and 
President  James  K.  Polk.  When  his  model  town  idea  died,  Bullock  sold  Elmwood 
to  Israel  J.  Ludlow,  son  of  one  of  the  three  founders  of  Cincinnati,  who  continued 
to  uphold  Elmwood's  tradition  of  hospitality. 

BROMLEY,  3.6  m.  (489  pop.),  a  Ludlow  suburb  of  small  workers'  cottages,  is 
squeezed  tightly  against  the  river  by  the  dark  hills  behind  it.  Garden  patches  are 
strung  along  the  river  opposite  the  few  steamers  usually  offshore  on  the  Cincin- 
nati side,  where  houses  and  some  industries  fill  the  bottom  land.  In  Bromley, 
houses  clamber,  stairstep  fashion,  up  the  steep,  rugged  heights.  On  a  slight  rise 


TOUR    4  263 

sloping  down  to  State  20  (L)  is  the  LANDMARK,  a  two-story  house  that,  tradition 
relates,  was  built  in  1765 — it  was  probably  built  later.  About  2,000  pieces  of  stone 
went  into  the  construction  of  this  dwelling  whose  walls  are  almost  two  feet  thick. 
White  pine  was  used  for  the  flooring ;  ash  trees,  split  in  half  and  still  showing  their 
woodland  bark,  made  the  cellar  rafters;  and  black  walnut  was  used  for  door  sills 
and  other  purposes.  Hand-wrought  nails  and  wooden  pins  hold  the  structure  to- 
gether. A  keystone  on  the  east  wall  of  the  house  bears  the  head  of  an  Indian  in 
stone.  The  present  owner  has  installed  hardwood  floors  on  the  first  story,  mod- 
ernized the  large  open  hearths  and  the  old  narrow,  enclosed  stairways,  and  built 
a  frame  addition.  The  small,  one-story  frame  structure  east  of  the  house  formerly 
stood  to  its  rear  and  was  a  slaves'  quarters. 

The  route  continues  westward  over  a  narrow  shelf  of  land  continually  flanked 
by  dark  hills  and  the  broad  quiet  sweep  of  the  Ohio.  Plain  little  frame  houses 
having  garden  patches,  cornfields,  and  some  livestock  around  them  stand  by  the 
road  or  near  the  river;  an  occasional  summer  house  of  the  lodge  type  is  seen. 
The  Cincinnati  suburbs  are  in  view  across  the  river.  On  State  20  is  CONSTANCE, 
7.4  m.  (87  pop.),  a  river  village  whose  old  FERRY  HOUSE  (R),  a  large  and  sub- 
stantial structure,  did  a  bustling  trade  before  the  turn  of  the  present  century.  The 
little  steam  ferry  operated  for  many  decades  by  the  Anderson  family  still  plies 
back  and  forth  on  the  Ohio  River  at  this  point  and  a  few  shantyboats  sometimes 
tie  up  here ;  but  Constance's  real  river  life  is  gone.  Fleets  of  long,  low,  steel  barges 
pushed  by  blunt-nosed  stern-wheelers  commonly  called  towboats  sweep  by  with 
never  a  pause,  bound  for  the  big  industrial  cities  up  or  down  the  Ohio.  Steamers 
pass  by  once  in  awhile,  and  occasionally  the  Gordon  Greene,  last  of  the  packets 
making  the  trip  up-river  to  Pittsburgh,  is  seen,  a  graceful  white  creation. 

Between  Covington  and  Florence  US  25  and  US  42  are  one  route, 
traversing  the  hilly  orchard  land  of  the  Ohio  River's  north  bend,  with 
a  fine  view  of  Cincinnati  and  the  winding  river. 

FORT  MITCHELL,  4.4  m.  (359  pop.),  is  a  residential  suburb. 
During  the  War  between  the  States,  when  Confederate  forces,  in  1862, 
were  threatening  an  invasion  of  the  North,  Gen.  Lew  Wallace — the 
author  of  Ben  Hur  and  the  commander  of  the  Union  forces  assigned  to 
the  defense  of  Cincinnati — led  15,000  men  across  the  Ohio  River  on  a 
hastily  constructed  pontoon  bridge  formed  of  coal  barges.  He  erected 
a  series  of  defensive  earthworks  reaching  from  the  Ohio  River  at  Brom- 
ley on  the  west  to  the  banks  of  Licking,  then  to  the  Ohio  near  Fort 
Thomas.  These  temporary  defenses  were  under  the  direction  of  Pro- 
fessor Ormsby  Mitchell,  and  were  called  by  his  name.  The  FORT 
MITCHELL  COUNTRY  CLUB,  Mitchell  Ave.,  has  a  nine-hole  golf  course 
and  is  the  local  center  of  social  life. 

ERLANGER,  8.4  m.  (905  alt.,  1,854  pop.),  is  a  residential  town  of 
the  Cincinnati-Covington  metropolitan  area. 

FLORENCE,  9.8  m.  (935  alt.,  450  pop.),  provides  the  locale  for 
one  of  John  Uri  Lloyd's  best-known  stories,  Stringtown  on  the  Pike. 
Here  US -42  turns  R.  (see  Tour  12),  leaving  US  25. 

Right  from  Florence  on  State  18,  an  improved  road,  to  BURLINGTON,  6  w. 
(848  alt.,  600  pop.),  seat  of  Boone  County,  incorporated  in  1824.  Burlington  is  a 
prosperous  farm  trade  center.  Cereals  and  a  fine  grade  of  white  burley  tobacco 
are  the  main  agricultural  products  of  the  surrounding  countryside. 

In  CRITTENDEN,  26.3  m.  (908  alt.,  265  pop.),  is  (R)  the  LLOYD 
RESERVATION,  founded  in  1918  by  Curtis  Lloyd,  professor  of  botany 


264  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

at  the  University  of  Cincinnati,  for  the  preservation  of  native  plant  life ; 
it  covers  more  than  400  acres.  The  Wild  Flower  Preserve,  in  a  wood- 
land on  the  reservation,  contains  every  known  species  of  this  region. 
On  the  preserve  is  a  community  house,  built  by  Professor  Lloyd,  and  a 
log  cabin  containing  fine  old  furniture. 

Near  the  southern  limits  of  Crittenden  on  US  25  is  (R)  the  SHERMAN 
TAVERN,  a  one-story  frame  structure,  26.7  m.,  once  the  most  popular 
inn  on  the  stagecoach  route  between  Cincinnati  and  Lexington.  It  had 
the  first  plastered  interior  walls  in  this  section  of  the  country,  one  of 
the  first  pianos  in  the  State,  and  its  proprietor  dispensed  free  bourbon 
to  guests.  The  bar  still  occupies  a  room  in  the  rear  of  the  house. 
Lafayette  is  said  to  have  spent  a  night  here  in  1825,  while  traveling  by 
stage  from  Cincinnati  to  Lexington,  Kentucky. 

DRY  RIDGE,  33.4  m.  (929  alt.,  97  pop.),  first  called  Campbell's 
Station,  was  settled  before  1792  near  a  mineral  spring  later  valued  for 
its  medicinal  qualities.  Between  Dry  Ridge  and  Williamstown,  US  25 
and  State  22  (see  Tour  13)  are  united. 

WILLIAMSTOWN,  36.5  m.  (943  alt.,  917  pop.),  a  lively  town  and 
the  seat  of  Grant  County,  is  in  the  fertile  agricultural  region.  It  was 
named  for  William  Arnold,  who  in  1820  gave  the  land  for  the  public 
buildings,  and  free  timber  to  all  who  purchased  lots  from  him. 

South  of  Williamstown  the  gently  rolling  highway  is  flanked  by  fields 
of  tobacco  and  corn,  and  pastures  in  which  cattle  browse. 

CARDOME  (open  by  permission),  70.2  m.,  was  built  (R)  in  1821 
by  Maj.  Benjamin  Stuart  Chambers,  an  officer  in  the  War  of  1812. 
After  having  passed  through  the  hands  of  various  owners,  this  fine  old 
estate,  first  called  Acacia  Grove,  became  a  Catholic  school  for  girls. 
In  1896  a  four-story  brick  building  with  a  tall  square  bell  tower  above 
the  entrance  was  added  to  the  original  mansion. 

GEORGETOWN,  70.4  m.  (866  alt.,  4,229  pop.),  with  its  many  large 
trees  and  old  houses,  is  a  college  town  and  the  seat  of  Scott  County. 
Incorporated  by  the  Virginia  Legislature  in  1790,  and  named  for  George 
Washington,  the  town  grew  up  around  and  still  obtains  its  water  supply 
from  ROYAL  SPRING  (R),  one  block  from  the  highway  on  Water  St. 
The  spring  was  discovered  and  named,  in  1774,  by  Col.  John  Floyd,  a 
pioneer  adventurer  and  surveyor,  who  was  impressed  by  the  volume 
and  crystal  clearness  of  its  water  and  by  the  beauty  of  its  setting. 

In  1775,  John  McClelland,  a  landowner  residing  near  Pittsburgh, 
accompanied  by  his  family  and  several  frontiersmen,  floated  down  the 
Ohio  River  in  flatboats  to  Salt  Lick  Creek,  now  in  Mason  County. 
Here  they  were  joined  by  Simon  Kenton  (see  Tour  15)  and  Thomas 
Williams.  When  they  reached  the  Royal  Spring  in  1776  they  built 
here.  This  became  an  outpost  of  civilization  in  the  wilderness  where 
pioneers,  passing  to  and  from  the  larger  settlements  south  of  the 
Kentucky  River,  found  refuge  and  shelter.  McClelland's  Station  suf- 
fered from  frequent  Indian  attacks;  one  of  these,  in  December  1776, 
was  led  by  the  famous  Mingo  chief,  Pluggy,  who  was  killed  during 
the  fight.  After  the  Indians  had  been  driven  off,  Pluggy  was  buried 


TOUR    4  265 

on  the  bluff  that  overhangs  the  spring.  For  many  years  superstitious 
inhabitants  of  the  settlement  believed  that  the  echo  in  the  spring  was 
the  death  cry  of  the  Indian  chief. 

On  College  St.  is  GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE  (L),  a  Baptist  institution, 
established  in  1829;  it  has  a  campus  of  20  acres,  an  enrollment  of  ap- 
proximately 600  students,  and  awards  the  bachelor  of  arts  degree. 

GIDDINGS  HALL,  the  oldest  building  on  the  campus,  was  erected  in 
1839  as  a  monument  to  Dr.  Rockwood  Giddings,  a  former  president 
of  the  college.  This  structure  was  designed  by  Dr.  Giddings  and 
erected  entirely  by  student  and  faculty  labor.  The  bricks,  burned  and 
laid  by  the  students,  are  of  clay  dug  from  a  corner  of  the  campus.  It 
is  said  that  a  quart  of  bourbon  reposes  under  each  of  the  six  Ionic 
columns  of  the  portico.  This  stately  building  is  one  of  the  most  notable 
examples  of  Greek  Revival  architecture  in  the  State.  The  one-story 
red  brick  gymnasium  has  an  Ionic  portico  between  the  wings. 

An  old  one-story  house  at  140  E.  Washington  St.,  now  in  poor  con- 
dition, has  a  fine  Palladian  doorway  with  carved  frame  and  a  well- 
modeled  cornice,  and  stands  on  a  stone-paved  terrace. 

The  SHROPSHIRE  HOUSE  on  Main  St.,  has  a  Greek  Revival  portico 
and  an  elliptical-fanlighted  doorway  with  side  lights.  The  window 
openings  on  the  first  story,  with  long  narrow  side  lights  and  hinged 
panels  below  the  sashes,  open  on  the  terrace.  Within,  a  graceful  arch 
supported  by  Ionic  columns  ornaments  the  hall. 

The  charming  SHOWALTER  HOUSE,  on  W.  Hamilton  St.,  of  brick 
painted  white,  is  designed  in  the  Greek  Revival  style  with  four  Ionic 
columns  supporting  the  pediment  of  the  two-story  portico.  The  house 
is  on  the  site  of  a  slave  market  whose  auction  block  still  stands  in  the 
yard. 

Georgetown  is  at  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14)  and  State 
40  (see  Tour  17). 

Between  Georgetown  and  Lexington  US  25  crosses  the  Bluegrass — 
the  world's  finest  pasture  for  the  rearing  of  blooded  horses,  as  is  dem- 
onstrated by  the  large  number  of  notable  breeders  who  maintain  farms 
in  it.  The  highway  passes  one  estate  after  the  other  with  trim  white 
fences  or  old  stone  walls  covered  by  vines,  with  large  well-kept  farm 
buildings — particularly  stables — and  with  tree-shaded  country  houses, 
some  of  which  belong  to  ante  bellum  days. 

HURRICANE  HALL  (R),  76.8  m.,  is  an  old  Georgian  Colonial  style 
house  of  whitewashed  brick,  built  prior  to  1801;  it  stands  at  the  head 
of  an  avenue  of  locusts  and  wild  cherry  trees,  with  an  aged,  vine- 
covered  end  turned  to  the  highway.  The  wallpaper  of  the  hall  and 
the  parlor  was  hung  in  1817.  The  old  parlor  paper,  depicting  the  ruins 
of  Rome  and  scenes  along  the  Tiber,  was  hand-blocked.  Roger 
Quarles,  who  built  the  house,  brought  his  family,  slaves,  and  furnish- 
ings in  wagons  from  Virginia. 

The  house  of  EOTHAN  (L),  81.8  m.,  was  built  in  1798  by  the  Rever- 
end James  Moore,  organizer  and  first  rector  of  Christ  Church  Episcopal 
parish,  later  president  of  Transylvania  University.  From  the  gate  a 


266  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

road  winds  through  a  meadow  to  the  house  which  is  concealed  from 
the  road  by  trees  and  a  hedge  of  syringa  and  roses.  The  one-story 
brick  structure,  painted  white,  of  Georgian  Colonial  design,  has  a  fine 
paneled  door  and  fanlight.  On  both  sides  of  the  doorway  is  an  arched 
window.  This  was  the  home  of  the  music  master,  described  by  James 
Lane  Allen  in  his  story,  Flute  and  Violin.  It  was  long  the  home  of 
Miss  Fanny  Frazer  Redd,  granddaughter  of  Oliver  Frazer,  the  lovable 
artist,  who  purchased  the  place  during  the  War  between  the  States. 
Many  portraits  painted  by  him,  as  well  as  those  by  his  teacher,  Mat- 
thew Jouett,  adorn  the  walls. 

LEXINGTON,  84.1  m.  (957  alt.,  45,736  pop.)  (see  Lexington). 

Points  of  Interest :  Homes  of  Henry  Clay,  Gen.  John  Hunt  Morgan,  Mary  Todd 
Lincoln,  and  John  Bradford;  Transylvania  College,  University  of  Kentucky,  Loose- 
leaf  Tobacco  Market. 

Lexington  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  US  27  (see 
Tour  3),  and  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

Section  b.    LEXINGTON  to  TENNESSEE  LINE,  139.6  m. 

South  of  Lexington,  0  m.,  US  25  passes  through  the  Kentucky  River 
gorge,  widely  known  for  its  scenic  beauty,  and  crosses  the  KEN- 
TUCKY RIVER  on  a  bridge  at  Clay's  Ferry.  From  a  parking  space 
near  the  top  of  the  bluff  is  a  splendid  view  of  the  palisades  and  the 
winding  river. 

Between  Clay's  Ferry  and  Richmond  is  a  fertile,  undulating  upland 
plain  where  farming  and  stock  raising  are  the  outstanding  occupations 
and  fox  hunting  a  favorite  sport.  Hunters  in  pink  mounted  on  thor- 
oughbreds, and  those  in  overalls  on  farm  horses  and  mules,  mingle  and 
ride  to  hounds  side  by  side.  Young  and  old,  rich  and  poor,  gather  at 
dawn  on  a  frosty  morning  at  the  casting  grounds.  The  master  calls 
the  roll  and  each  handler  answers  to  the  number  that  has  been  assigned 
to  his  hounds.  After  the  master  has  instructed  the  judges,  he  gives 
the  word  to  turn  the  hounds  loose.  Without  a  sound  they  trot  out 
of  sight. 

When  the  strike  is  made,  the  hounds  advance  in  full  cry — a  crescendo 
of  deep  and  high  shrill  tones.  Suddenly  the  beautiful  little  quarry  is 
seen  in  the  open,  loping  speedily  and  easily  over  the  ground  with  the 
full  pack  following,  each  hound  baying  with  every  bound.  In  a  flash, 
fox,  hounds,  and  hunters  are  gone — the  sound  grows  fainter  and  dies 
away.  Kentuckians  have  inherited  a  love  of  this  sport  from  their  Eng- 
lish forebears.  It  is  said  that  when  "Pidgeontail"  Bedford,  an  in- 
veterate follower  of  the  hounds,  married  and  took  his  bride  home,  the 
house  he  had  built  for  her  had  been  completed  except  for  the  hanging 
of  the  front  door.  After  carrying  her  over  the  threshold  in  the  tradi- 
tional manner,  he  set  out  on  his  horse  to  borrow  a  pair  of  hinges  from 
a  neighbor.  In  the  snow  he  saw  the  track  of  a  fox,  and,  forgetting  his 


TOUR    4  267 

errand,  he  and  his  hound  gave  chase.  It  is  said  that  three  days  elapsed 
before  he  returned  with  the  brush  as  a  present  for  his  bride. 

One  of  the  most  notable  fox  hunters  of  the  State,  and  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  characters  of  his  time,  was  Gen.  George  Washington 
Maupin  (1807-1868)  of  Madison  County.  He  is  described  as  having 
been  primarily  a  fox  hunter,  secondarily  a  trader  in  Negroes  and  mules, 
and  last  a  planter.  With  his  high  peaked  cap,  flowered  waistcoat,  and 
garish  scarf,  he  was  conspicuous  at  every  hunt.  The  noted  Maupin- 
Walker  foxhound  traces  its  pedigree  to  his  dogs.  Foxhounds  bred  in 
this  section  of  Kentucky  are  shipped  to  many  parts  of  the  world  and 
many  of  the  field  trials  of  the  National  Foxhunters  Association  are 
held  in  this  area. 

At  22  m.  is  the  junction  with  Whitehall  Lane. 

Right  on  this  road  to  WHITEHALL  (open  on  request),  the  home  of  Gen.  Cassius 
M.  Clay,  noted  abolitionist  and,  in  1861,  Minister  to  Russia.  The  tall  two-and-one- 
half -story  building,  designed  in  1864  in  the  General  Grant  manner  by  T.  Lewinski, 
a  Pole  living  in  Lexington,  contains  22  rooms  and  three  wide  hallways.  It  was 
built  about  the  original  mansion,  said  to  have  been  the  first  brick  house  erected  in 
Madison  County,  constructed  in  1787  by  Brig.  Gen.  Green  Clay,  who  represented 
Madison  County,  Ky.,  in  the  Virginia  convention  called  in  1788  to  ratify  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution.  It  was  he  who  unsuccessfully  attempted  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Fort  Meigs  by  the  British  and  Indians  in  1812. 

RICHMOND,  26.8  m.  (926  alt.,  6,495  pop.),  named  for  Richmond, 
Virginia,  and  referred  to  in  early  writings  as  aa  manufacturing  little 
log  village,"  is  an  old  town  with  majestic  trees  bordering  the  streets 
and  many  dignified  old  houses.  The  first  settlement  was  made  in  1784 
by  Col.  John  Miller,  who  served  at  Yorktown.  When  Richmond  was 
made  the  seat  of  county  government  in  1798,  the  first  court  was  held 
in  Colonel  Miller's  barn.  The  beautiful  MADISON  COUNTY  COURT- 
HOUSE (L),  on  Main  St.,  is  on  the  site  of  the  Miller  barn.  The  build- 
ing, completed  in  1849,  has  a  pedimented  Doric  portico  surmounted 
with  a  clock  tower  having  two  octagonal  stages.  The  flanking  wings 
are  lower  than  the  central  unit. 

From  the  spring  of  1861,  when  Federal  forces  took  control  of  Madi- 
son County,  to  the  end  of  the  War  between  the  States,  Richmond  was  a 
scene  of  conflict.  Many  of  its  buildings  bear  the  scars  of  the  engage- 
ment between  Gen.  William  Nelson's  Union  forces  and  Gen.  Kirby 
Smith's  Confederates  that  took  place  August  29-31,  1862.  The  battle, 
which  began  six  miles  south  of  Richmond  at  Mount  Zion  Church,  and 
developed  into  a  sharply  contested  retreat  through  Richmond  and 
along  the  highway  north  toward  Lexington,  resulted  in  the  first  Con- 
federate victory  in  Kentucky. 

In  Richmond  is  the  EASTERN  KENTUCKY  STATE  TEACHERS'  COLLEGE, 
which  in  1906  took  over  the  buildings  and  campus  of  old  Central  Uni- 
versity, established  in  1874  and  united  with  Centre  College  at  Danville 
(see  Tour  5)  in  1901.  Among  magnificent  trees  is  UNIVERSITY  HALL, 
built  in  1874,  a  three-story  brick  structure  with  a  Greek  Revival  portico. 
Memorial  Hall,  built  in  1883  to  commemorate  the  100th  anniversary 


268  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

of  the  founding  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kentucky,  is  a  men's 
dormitory.  Outstanding  among  new  buildings  is  the  Coates  Adminis- 
tration Building,  designed  in  the  Renaissance  style.  It  contains  the 
Hiram  Brock  Auditorium  which  has  a  seating  capacity  of  1,760.  The 
library  of  John  Wilson  Townsend,  historian  and  author  of  Kentucky  in 
American  Letters,  was  purchased  by  the  school  in  1930.  This  includes 
one  of  the  largest  and  best  collections  of  books  and  pamphlets  written 
by  Kentuckians  about  Kentucky.  Many  of  the  works  are  autographed 
first  editions,  accompanied  by  letters  relating  .to  the  contents. 

In  the  Courthouse  Square  is  the  PIONEER  MEMORIAL  FOUNTAIN, 
erected  1906.  Surmounting  the  tapering  shaft  is  a  bronze  bust  of  a 
pioneer  wearing  the  traditional  coonskin  cap.  The  fountain  was  the 
gift  of  David  R.  Francis,  Governor  of  Missouri  (1889-1893),  a  native 
of  Richmond. 

In  the  RICHMOND  CEMETERY  (R),  on  US  25,  is  the  GRAVE  OF  GEN. 
GREEN  CLAY,  that  of  his  son,  Cassius  Marcellus,  and  of  his  grandson, 
Brutus  J.  The  Irvine  Monument  marks  the  GRAVE  OF  CAPT.  CHRIS- 
TOPHER IRVINE,  the  Indian  fighter,  and  the  GRAVE  OF  COL.  WILLIAM 
IRVINE,  his  brother  who  was  the  hero  of  EstilPs  Defeat,  1782.  The 
Miller  Monument  stands  at  the  GRAVE  OF  COL.  JOHN  MILLER,  donor 
of  the  site  of  Richmond. 

IRVINETON  (open),  Lancaster  Ave.,  was  built  in  1820  by  Dr.  A.  Q. 
Rollins  and  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Irvine  family  in  1829. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Susan  Irvine,  at  her  death  in  1918,  left  the  house  to 
the  Medical  Society  of  Kentucky  which,  in  conjunction  with  the  U.S. 
Public  Health  Service,  uses  it  as  a  hospital  for  the  treatment  of 
trachoma.  Old  paintings  and  heirlooms  of  the  Irvine  family  remain  in 
the  building,  whose  bay  windows  and  other  alterations  belie  its  age. 

Crowning  a  wooded  hill  at  27.9  m.  is  WOODLAWN  (R),  a  brick  house 
of  Georgian  Colonial  design  built  in  1822  by  Gen.  Green  Clay  for  his 
daughter,  the  wife  of  Col.  William  Rodes.  A  small  one-story  balus- 
trated  porch  is  flanked  by  four  Palladian  windows,  two  on  each  side. 
The  doorway,  with  fanlight  and  side  lights,  opens  into  a  wide  hall.  A 
carved  arch,  supported  by  twin  columns,  spans  the  hall,  and  the  chair 
rail,  carved  in  flowers,  still  shows  old  colors — faded  rose  and  gray.  The 
semicircular  headings  of  the  cupboards  on  each  side  of  the  mantel  in  the 
back  parlor  are  exquisitely  carved.  The  cut  glass  doorknobs  resemble 
old  bridle  buttons.  John  Fox,  Jr.,  wrote  a  description  of  this  house 
in  his  novel  Crittenden.  Woodlawn  was  occupied  by  both  Federals  and 
Confederates  during  the  War  between  the  States. 

Richmond  is  at  the  junction  with  US  227  (see  Tour  17 A). 

Left  from  Richmond  on  State  52  to  the  WACO  AND  BYBEE  POTTERIES, 
8  m.  (open  to  public),  established  almost  a  century  ago  by  John  Corneilson  to 
supply  his  neighbors  with  brick,  tile,  and  earthenware;  the  enterprise  continues  to 
employ  old-fashioned  methods  of  production.  The  present  owner,  Webb  Corneil- 
son, specializes  in  the  production  of  blue  earthenware  of  his  own  design  and  color- 
ing. The  local  clay  used  for  this  pottery  is  mixed  by  mule  power,  fashioned  by 
hand  on  the  potter's  wheel,  and  then  "fixed" — a  process  taking  in  all  about  a  week. 


TOUR    4  269 

CASTLEWOOD  (L),  30.1  m.,  was  designed  and  erected  in  1820  by 
Gideon  Shryock,  Kentucky  architect,  for  James  Estill,  Jr.,  on  a  part 
of  the  15,000-acre  tract  surveyed  and  owned  by  Capt.  James  Estill,  a 
Revolutionary  soldier  and  pioneer.  This  two-story  house  of  modified 
Georgian  Colonial  design  and  built  of  brick,  contains  some  of  the  finest 
hand-carved  woodwork  in  Kentucky;  the  mantels,  especially,  illustrate 
the  skill  of  the  pioneer  craftsman. 

On  US  25  at  31.1  m.,  is  the  point  where  Boone's  Trace  (see  Tour 
4 A)  from  North  Carolina  turned  to  follow  Otter  Creek  to  the  south 
bank  of  the  Kentucky  River,  where  Fort  Boonesboro  (see  Tour  17 A) 
was  built.  The  trail  entered  Madison  County  over  the  crest  of  Big  Hill, 
the  landmark  on  the  Jackson  County  line,  and  went  down  the  hills  to 
the  headwaters  of  Otter  Creek. 

MOUNT  ZION  CHURCH  (R),  32.7  m.,  is  a  small  rectangular  brick 
building  erected  in  1852.  It  has  two  small  entrances  and  lacks  orna- 
mentation but  its  simplicity  is  attractive.  The  Battle  of  Richmond 
in  1862  began  at  this  point. 

BEREA,  41.6  m.  (943  alt.,  1,827  pop.),  in  the  foothills  of  the  South- 
ern Highlands,  is  the  seat  of  BEREA  COLLEGE  (student  guides  at  Boone 
Tavern),  founded  in  1853;  this  is  the  oldest  and  largest  of  the  moun- 
tain schools  in  Kentucky.  The  85  well-equipped  brick  and  stone  build- 
ings of  the  college,  and  its  unusually  beautiful  campus  of  about  300 
acres,  comprise  a  large  part  of  the  village.  The  FEE  MEMORIAL 
CHURCH,  of  Greek  Revival  design,  stands  almost  in  the  center  of  the 
campus.  People  of  23  denominations  worship  together  in  this  church. 
The  BEREA  COLLEGE  CHAPEL,  a  red  brick  building  with  Greek  Revival 
features,  was  presented  to  the  college  in  1904  by  an  anonymous  donor 
on  condition  that  it  be  erected  by  student  labor.  In  the  chapel  tower 
are  the  WILLIAM  GOODELL  FROST  MEMORIAL  CHIMES,  which  honor 
a  former  president  of  the  college,  and  were  presented  in  1917  by  the 
same  benefactor.  John  G.  Lee,  Cassius  M.  Clay,  and  John  A.  R. 
Rogers,  cofounders  of  Berea,  were  opposed  to  slavery,  and  the  college 
admitted  both  white  and  Negro  students  till  1904,  when  the  State 
enacted  prohibitive  legislation.  The  school's  endowment  was  then 
divided;  Lincoln  Institute  (see  Tour  16),  near  Louisville,  was  pro- 
vided for  Negro  students  and  Berea  became  a  co-educational  school  for 
white  students.  Berea's  purpose  is  to  contribute  "to  the  spiritual  and 
material  welfare  of  the  mountain  region  of  the  South,  affording  to  young 
people  of  character  and  promise  a  thorough  Christian  education,  ele- 
mentary, industrial,  secondary,  normal,  and  collegiate,  with  opportuni- 
ties for  manual  labor  as  an  assistant  in  self-support."  Berea,  now 
(1939)  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  William  James  Hutchins,  had  an 
enrollment  of  1,692  in  1937. 

While  the  college  entrance  requirements  are  high,  lack  of  pre-college 
training  is  no  barrier  to  the  ambitious  student.  Both  boys  and  girls 
live  under  a  dormitory  system  that  provides  comfortable  living  condi- 
tions at  the  minimum  cost.  All  students  pay  at  least  Dart  of  their 


270  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

expenses  by  labor  in  some  of  the  schools.  Varied  activities  include 
weaving,  spinning,  the  manufacture  of  furniture,  and  the  operation  of 
a  broom  factory,  a  college  laundry,  a  bakery,  a  store,  a  printing  shop,  a 
farm,  and  a  hotel. 

On  the  outskirts  of  Berea  are  (L)  the  CHURCHILL  WEAVERS  (loom 
house  and  display  room  open  to  public).  Since  1922,  when  it  was 
founded,  this  institution  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind 
m  the  country,  operating  more  than  40  looms.  After  D.  C.  Churchill, 
the  founder,  graduated  from  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 
as  an  engineer,  he  spent  some  time  in  India,  where  he  studied  the  art 
of  weaving.  He  designed  a  loom  and  took  first  prize  for  both  speed 
and  quality  of  cloth  in  an  all-India  competition.  He  came  to  Berea, 
at  the  invitation  of  President  Hutchins,  to  take  the  chair  of  physics  and 
motor  mechanics.  Three  looms,  including  one  he  had  designed  for  his 
wife — who  soon  displayed  unusual  ability  in  combining  and  blending 
colors — and  a  hastily  constructed  loom-house  were  the  first  plant  of 
the  present  Churchill  Weavers,  now  working  in  well-equipped,  well- 
lighted  buildings.  The  looms  are  all  of  Churchill's  design  and  were 
made  in  the  plant  shop.  Many  of  the  designs  used  follow  the  patterns 
traditional  among  the  Kentucky  mountaineers. 

Left  from  Berea  on  State  21,  an  improved  road,  to  INDIAN  FORT  MOUN- 
TAIN, 3  m.,  a  prehistoric  stronghold  with  more  than  200  acres  inside  its  defenses. 
Seventeen  stone  walls  and  barricades  defend  the  summit.  Caves  and  rock  houses 
contain  the  graves  of  warriors  who  once  held  this  mountain. 

Left  0.5  m.  from  Indian  Fort  Mountain  to  BASIN  MOUNTAIN,  another  pre- 
historic fortification  on  a  smaller  flat-topped  knob.  Two  stone  walls  guard  the 
summit,  which  is  18  acres  in  extent.  This  mountain  is  named  for  the  two  basins 
that  were  hollowed  out  on  its  crest  to  hold  water  for  the  defenders  of  the  fort. 
Both  fortifications  are  in  a  strategic  position  near  the  Warriors  Path  (see  Tour  4A), 
which  passed  through  Boone's  Gap,  three  miles  south  of  the  present  site  of  Berea. 

A  marker  (L),  45.1  m.,  commemorates  Daniel  Boone's  Trail  (Boone's 
Trace)  which  was  blazed  from  North  Carolina  into  Kentucky  in  1775 
(see  Tour  4 A). 

MOUNT  VERNON,  59.6  m.  (1,150  alt.,  939  pop.),  seat  of  Rock- 
castle  County,  was  incorporated  in  1817  and  is  in  the  foothills  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains,  a  region  in  which  isolated  knobs  and  ridge  tops 
rise  to  a  height  of  1,500  to  2,500  feet. 

Immediately  back  of  the  courthouse  is  the  old  LANGFORD  HOUSE 
(open),  built  in  1790  as  a  blockhouse  for  defense  against  the  Indians. 
Although  the  front  of  the  building  has  been  weatherboarded,  and  win- 
dows have  been  cut  where  there  were  formerly  only  loopholes,  the 
interior  is  little  changed.  This  house  became  a  hotel  in  stagecoach 
days,  and  later  was  a  station  on  the  Underground  Railroad. 

On  court  day,  which  is  observed  regularly  in  Mount  Vernon,  country- 
folk from  the  surrounding  region  come  in  wagons  and  on  horseback 
to  trade,  talk,  and  drink  a  little. 

Fox,  coon,  and  'possum  hunting  are  favorite  sports  in  this  region 
where  most  farmers  own  three  or  four  hounds  apiece.  Each  hunter 


TOUR    4  271 

bets  on  his  own  dogs,  and  the  hunt  usually  lasts  from  one  to  three  days. 
According  to  a  local  sportsman,  when  the  dogs  announce  by  loud  barks 
that  a  coon  has  been  "treed,"  the  hunters  gather  under  the  tree  to  wait 
till  morning  when  they  "either  chop  the  tree  down  or  shoot  the  coon 
out." 

At  65.7  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  dirt  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  the  GREAT  SALTPETER  CAVES,  4  w.,  which  were  mined  exten- 
sively for  material  to  manufacture  gunpowder  during  the  War  between  the  States. 

LIVINGSTON,  69.7  m.  (858  alt.,  912  pop.),  on  Rockcastle  River, 
is  a  weather-beaten  hamlet  in  a  setting  of  natural  beauty.  It  was 
formerly  a  shipping  center  for  coal  mined  in  the  surrounding  region. 

South  of  Livingston  is  a  rugged,  hilly  area,  where  the  scenery  is 
particularly  attractive. 

US  25  crosses  Rockcastle  River,  77.4  m.t  so  named  because  of  its 
characteristic  large  rocks  and  cliffs.  In  the  NARROWS  extending  for 
half  a  mile  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  the  water  is  10  to  100  feet  deep 
and  so  blocked  with  enormous  rocks  that  in  many  places  a  canoe  cannot 
pass.  This  river  is  a  favorite  hunting  and  fishing  ground,  and  has  long 
been  celebrated  for  the  wild,  romantic  character  of  its  surroundings. 
Mineral  springs,  for  which  therapeutic  value  was  claimed,  occur  near 
the  lower  waters  of  Rockcastle. 

LONDON,  92.4  m.  (1,209  alt.,  1,950  pop.),  in  a  mountain  valley, 
is  the  seat  of  Laurel  County  and  the  shopping  center  for  owners  of 
small  mines  and  for  corn  and  tobacco  farmers,  many  of  whom  still  live 
as  did  their  ancestors  in  eighteenth  century  England  (see  Tours  1,  18, 
and  19).  It  has  a  five-block  business  street,  a  Federal  building  where 
court  is  held,  a  Methodist  college,  hotels,  and  a  motion  picture  house. 

County  court  day  here  is  the  second  Monday  of  each  month,  and  at 
this  time  every  man  in  the  county  who  can  comes  in  to  "Jockey  Lot" 
to  talk  and  trade.  Near  election  time  politicians  are  everywhere. 
Guns,  watches,  knives,  harness,  wagons,  horses,  mules,  dogs — anything 
and  everything  that  can  be  "swapped"  or  sold  is  "fetched  in."  One 
can  trade  extensively  on  court  day  without  a  cent  of  money;  the  best 
currency  is  a  young  filly  or  a  foxhound.  The  story  is  told  of  a  penni- 
less young  farmer  who  arrived  afoot  one  court  day,  leading  a  pair  of 
well-matched  foxhounds.  Late  in  the  evening  he  returned  home  in 
state,  riding  a  frisky  two-year-old,  with  sugar  and  coffee  for  his  family 
in  the  saddlebags.  In  explaining  the  situation  to  his  admiring  neigh- 
bors, he  exclaimed,  "Y6u  see  hit's  all  erlong  ov  my  bein'  sich  er  dog- 
goned  good  jedge  uv  er  anermule."  In  small  Kentucky  county  seats 
women  seldom  appear  on  the  crowded  streets  on  court  day,  though 
occasionally  a  farm-wife  comes  to  exchange  her  butter  and  eggs  for 
coal  oil  and  calico,  and,  if  she  dares,  to  keep  an  eye  on  "pa."  The 
farmer  tells  his  wife,  "Court  day  hain't  no  fit'n  time  f'r  women  folk 
to  be  draggin'  roun'  town  nohow." 


272  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

SUE  BENNET  COLLEGE  (co-educational),  within  the  corporate  limits 
of  London,  was  established  in  1896  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South.  It  has  six  modern  red  brick  buildings  on  a  26-acre  campus  and 
is  accredited  by  the  Southern  Association  of  Colleges. 

In  the  FEDERAL  BUILDING  is  the  office  of  the  district  Forest  Ranger 
who  is  in  charge  of  Sublimity  Farms. 

London  is  at  the  junction  with  State  80  (see  Tour  18). 

Right  from  London  on  a  hard-surfaced  road  to  the  Forest  Service's  SUBLIMITY 
FARMS,  2.1  m.,  a  583-acre  area  divided  into  52  part-time  and  14  full-time  farm 
units,  a  community  pasture,  and  a  community  woodlot.  Designed  as  a  demonstra- 
tion in  proper  land  use,  this  project  contains  59  new  houses  and  7  renovated 
houses — all  with  modern  plumbing  and  electricity,  root  cellars,  barns,  and  coal 
sheds.  These  units  are  rented  by  the  Government  under  contracts  which  encourage 
the  homesteaders  to  follow  the  scientific  farming  and  home  managing  plans  worked 
out  for  them  by  an  agronomist  and  a  home  economist  whose  headquarters  are  in 
London.  The  adjacent  Cumberland  National  Forest  supplies  employment  for  those 
living  on  the  part-time  farms. 

The  entrance  (L)  to  LEVI  JACKSON  WILDERNESS  ROAD 
STATE  PARK  (adm.  10$,  overnight  camping  25$;  fishing  and  swim- 
ming, 25$  each),  is  at  95.6  m.  In  1784,  40  pioneers,  traveling  over 
the  Boone  Trail,  stopped  for  the  night  here  on  the  Little  Laurel  River. 
They  were  attacked  by  Indians  in  what  has  been  called  the  Defeated 
Camp  Massacre,  and  all  but  three  of  the  company  were  slain  or  taken 
captive;  two  of  the  survivors  hid  in  a  hollow  tree.  The  grandchildren 
of  Levi  Jackson,  Revolutionary  soldier  who  received  land  here  for  war 
services,  gave  the  State  more  than  300  acres  of  this  site  to  commemorate 
the  slain  pioneers.  Improvements  made  by  the  National  Park  Service, 
utilizing  CCC  labor,  include  water,  sewerage  and  lighting  systems; 
roads,  foot  and  bridle  trails;  a  reproduction  of  a  pioneer's  two-story 
log  dwelling  housing  a  museum ;  shelter  houses ;  picnic  facilities ;  a  look- 
out tower ;  a  bridge  across  the  Laurel  River ;  and  the  planting  of  several 
thousand  trees  and  shrubs. 

At  105.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  25W,  now  the  route,  and  with 
US  25E  (see  Tour  4 A). 

CORBIN,  107.5  m.  (1,046  alt.,  8,026  pop.),  a  busy  railroad  center 
in  a  level  part  of  the  Cumberland  Plateau,  is  surrounded  by  a  generally 
mountainous  area  with  large  tracts  of  timber.  Coal  mining  is  the  chief 
occupation  with  farming  and  stock  raising  second  in  importance.  In 
1775,  when  Daniel  Boone  cut  his  trace,  which  later  became  a  part  of 
the  Wilderness  Road  (see  Tour  4 A),  into  Kentucky,  he  turned  north 
at  this  place.  The  land  on  which  the  town  stands  was  granted  to  Alex 
McClardy,  one  of  Boone's  associates,  in  1798,  but  remained  little  more 
than  a  wilderness  until  1883  when  the  main  line  of  the  L.  &  N.  R.R. 
was  built.  It  is  now  one  of  the  three  major  supply  points  of  the  system 
and  furnishes  such  materials  as  coal  and  timber. 

Corbin  is  the  junction  with  State  90  (see  Tour  4B). 

The  GATLIFFE  FISH  HATCHERY  (R),  124.6  m.,  was  built  in  1929, 
and  operated  by  the  Kentucky  State  Fish  and  Game  Commission. 


TOUR    4  273 

Eleven  of  the  plant's  30  acres  are  in  ponds  supplied  with  water  from 
Watts  Creek  by  means  of  a  levee.  Largemouthed,  smallmouthed,  and 
Kentucky  bass  are  raised  here  at  the  rate  of  1,000,000  a  year  for  dis- 
tribution into  streams  throughout  the  State. 

Approaching  Williamsburg  from  the  north  the  highway  winds  down 
cliffs  in  a  succession  of  curves  that  reveal  fine  views  of  the  town. 

WILLIAMSBURG,  209.1  m.  (975  alt.,  1,826  pop.),  as  well  as 
Whitley  County,  of  which  it  is  the  seat,  is  named  for  Col.  William 
Whitley,  a  pioneer  renowned  as  an  Indian  fighter.  Surrounded  by  a 
coal-mining  and  agricultural  region  it  is  on  a  low  spur  merging  into  the 
flood  plain  of  a  wide  meander  of  the  Cumberland  River,  and  is  walled 
in  by  steep  winding  ridges  that  rise  to  a  height  of  1,900  feet.  To  the 
southwest,  uplands  adjacent  to  Pine  Mountain  rise  to  an  elevation  of 
2,500  feet.  In  this  region,  which  is  on  the  Indians'  great  southern 
trail,  scientists  have  found  numerous  remains  of  towns  and  mounds. 
The  artifacts  include  .unusually  fine  specimens  of  flints,  commonly 
known  as  "chunkee  stones." 

Williamsburg 's  site  was  selected  at  the  county's  first  term  of  court 
held  in  1817  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Cox,  who  agreed  to  give  the  county 
half  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  lots  for  the  town,  if  a  site  on  his  land 
— which  included  a  fine  spring — were  chosen  for  the  county  seat.  The 
records  of  this  offer  and  its  acceptance  are  stored  in  the  old  brick 
WHITLEY  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE  in  the  center  of  the  public  square. 

CUMBERLAND  COLLEGE,  founded  in  1889  by  the  Baptist  Church,  has 
an  endowment  of  $500,000.  It  is  a  co-educational  junior  college  offer- 
ing vocational  and  preprofessional  courses.  The  school  owns  a  15-acre 
campus  with  nine  buildings,  including  a  library,  and  has  an  enrollment 
of  500  students. 

KING'S  MILL,  on  the  Cumberland  River,  300  yards  from  the  court- 
house, has  been  in  use  for  more  than  100  years.  Its  dam  is  a  popular 
fishing  hole. 

Participants  in  the  annual  community  "sing"  (1st  Sun.  in  July) 
bring  basket  dinners  and  spend  the  whole  day  at  the  gathering.  Local 
and  visiting  choral  groups  contribute  to  the  program  of  hymns  and 
spirituals. 

South  of  Williamsburg  US  25W  winds  near  the  towering  JELLICO 
MOUNTAINS  (R)  and  through  quiet  river  valleys. 

In  JELLICO,  139.6  m.  (937  alt.,  405  pop.),  US  25W  crosses  the 
Tennessee  Line,  67  miles  north  of  Knoxville,  Tenn.  (see  Tenn.  Tour  5). 


274  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 


Tour  4A 


Junction   with   US    25 — Pineville — Middlesboro — Cumberland    Gap — 

(Tazewell,Tenn.);  US  25E. 

Junction  with  US  25  to  Tennessee  Line,  54.4  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  parallels  route  throughout. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

Through  Cumberland  Gap  at  the  southern  end  of  US  25E,  and  over 
the  route  now  followed  in  part  by  US  25E,  came  the  first  western  surge 
of  Kentucky  pioneers,  singly  or  in  small  groups,  attracted  by  tales  of 
fertile  land  yet  unclaimed,  of  springs  and  brooks  and  rivers,  of  plentiful 
game  and  endless  adventure. 

Daniel  Boone  and  his  companions,  sponsored  by  Col.  Richard 
Henderson,  became  the  advance  guard  for  this  westward  movement, 
when  in  1775  they  marked  the  way  to  the  site  of  what  was  to  become 
Fort  Boonesboro  (see  Tour  17 A).  Boone's  Trace  was  not  a  new  trail 
through  the  wilderness;  it  was  a  combination  of  paths  long  used  by  the 
buffalo  and  Indians,  and  later  by  French  hunters  and  trappers.  North 
of  Cumberland  Gap,  for  about  50  miles,  Boone  followed  the  Warriors 
Path — which  extended  from  the  Shawnee  villages  on  the  Ohio  and 
Scioto  Rivers  to  the  Cherokee  country  of  the  south — then  selected  a 
buffalo  trace  that  took  him  westward  to  Rockcastle  River,  up  Round- 
stone  Creek,  through  the  gap  in  Big  Hill,  and  down  Otter  Creek  to 
the  Kentucky  River. 

In  the  same  year  Benjamin  Logan  marked  and  improved  a  trail  to 
the  site  of  St.  Asaph  (see  Tour  3),  a  track  that  branched  westward 
from  Boone's  Trace  at  Rockcastle  River,  extended  to  the  site  of  present 
Crab  Orchard,  and  on  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  (Louisville).  Logan's 
trail,  which  became  more  important  than  Boone's  Trace,  was  referred 
to  as  "the  road  through  the  great  wilderness,"  and  finally  the  Wilder- 
ness Road.  As  early  as  1779  the  Virginia  Assembly  passed  an  act 
providing  for  improvement  of  the  Wilderness  Road.  Similar  acts  were 
passed  by  the  Kentucky  Legislature  in  1795  and  1797,  but  it  remained 
little  more  than  a  pack  road  until  1818,  when  definite  steps  were  taken 
to  widen  it  and  to  improve  the  fords. 

The  southern  section  of  the  Wilderness  Road  (paved  US  25E)  still 
passes  through  a  land  of  mountains  veined  with  mineral  deposits,  of 
rivers  and  ravines,  of  woods  and  flowers.  But  generations  of  white 
men  have  cleared  and  cultivated  much  of  its  fertile  land  and  mined  its 


VII.  ALONG  THE  HIGHWAY  I 


GOLD  DEPOSITORY,   CAMP   KNOX 


FORT   KNO> 


INDIAN  BURIAL  GROUND,  WICKLIFFE 


BRYAN  STATION  SPRING,  LEXINGTON 


FORT  HARROD,  HARRODSBURG 


FLOOD  WATERS  REACH  STATUE  OF  CHIEF  PADUKE,  PADUCAH   (1937) 


I 


•HP 


COVERED  BRIDGE,  CYNTHIANA 


OLD  CANE  RIDGE  MEETING  HOUSE  (1792),  NEAR  PARIS 


m 

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\i      II  JP~1 

Ji  IB 


WOOLRIDGE  MONUMENTS,  MAYFIELD 


MT.  LEBANON,  NEAR  PARIS 


ffi 


HI 

III 


MINING  TOWN 


THE  FAITH  HEALER 


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mm 


i 


MINER  S  HOME 


CUMBERLAND  FALLS  LODGE 


. 

f 


ELKHORN  CREEK,  NEAR  LEXINGTON 


TOUR    4A  275 

ore.  Their  rail  fences  trail  along  the  highway,  enclosing  cornfields  that 
interspace  the  timber;  cabins  are  perched  on  the  hillsides;  and  busy 
manufacturing  cities  or  drab  mining  towns  deface  the  mountains  and 
valleys. 

US  25E  branches  southeast  from  its  junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour 
4),  0  m.,  on  the  northern  outskirts  of  CORBIN  (1,046  alt.,  8,026  pop.) 
(see  Tour  4),  and,  passing  between  rugged  cliffs  and  towering  moun- 
tains, traverses  an  area  in  which  coal  mining  is  the  chief  industry. 

At  16  m.  is  the  junction  with  old  US  25E. 

Right  on  old  US  25E  to  BARBOURVILLE,  1.4  m.  (975  alt.,  2,375  pop.),  seat 
of  Knox  County,  in  a  broad  valley  of  the  winding  Cumberland  River.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  thickly  forested  ridges  that  rise  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
to  a  height  of  2,000  feet.  The  soil,  a  sandy  loam  and  clay,  is  productive  and  well 
adapted  to  agriculture.  When  Knox  County  was  created  in  1799,  it  included  5,000 
acres  belonging  to  Richard  Barbour,  a  Virginian.  By  1800  the  land  had  passed 
into  the  possession  of  James  Barbour,  a  kinsman,  who  gave  this  town  site  to  the 
county  and  persuaded  it  to  donate  half  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  lots  to  a 
fund  for  erecting  public  buildings.  The  town  was  named  in  his  honor. 

UNION  COLLEGE  (co-educational),  a  Methodist  institution  housed  in  plain  red 
brick  buildings,  was  founded  in  1879.  It  is  accredited  by  the  Southern  Association 
of  Colleges,  and  has  an  enrollment  of  400  students.  The  college  library  contains 
approximately  11,000  volumes.  Dahlia  growers  from  a  wide  area  participate  in  a 
Dahlia  Show,  held  each  October  in  the  Union  College  Gymnasium. 

The  GEORGE  OWENS  COLLECTION  (open  on  request),  Knox  St.,  contains  arrow- 
heads, pipes,  tomahawks,  beads,  bone  objects,  fossil  remains,  pottery,  and  other 
Indian  relics  and  objects  of  archeological  interest. 

In  an  old  frame  building  (open)  on  Liberty  St.  (R),  built  in  1846,  were  the 
LAW  OFFICES  OF  SAMUEL  F.  MILLER  and  SILAS  WOODSON.  Miller  (1816-1890)  was 
Associate  Justice  of  the  U.S.  Supreme  Court  (1862-1890).  Woodson  was  Governor 
of  Missouri  (1873-1875).  This  small,  one-story  building  has  never  been  altered 
and  is  (1939)  in  need  of  repair. 

Joseph  Eve,  a  circuit  judge  and  the  only  American  minister  sent  to  the  Republic 
of  Texas  (1841),  lived  in  Barbourville. 

Right  0.1  m.  from  Barbourville  on  State  6  to  junction  with  State  11;  L.  4.6  m. 
on  State  11  (Thomas  Walker  Memorial  Highway)  to  the  12-acre  DR.  THOMAS 
WALKER  STATE  PARK.  A  REPRODUCTION  OF  DR.  WALKER'S  LOG  CABIN  marks 
the  site  of  the  dwelling  built  in  1750  by  Dr.  Walker,  a  surveyor  and  physician, 
who  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1715.  He  and  several  companions  had  been  sent  on 
an  exploration  into  Kentucky  by  the  Loyal  Land  Company  of  London.  They 
cleared  the  land  near  the  site  of  Barbourville  and  built  a  cabin  here  on  this  roll- 
ing hill  that  overlooks  the  river  named  by  Dr.  Walker  for  the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land, son  of  George  II.  The  park  acreage  was  acquired  and  the  memorial  cabin 
built  by  the  Barbourville  Post  of  the  American  Legion.  The  reproduction  of  the 
old  one-room  cabin  is  built  of  round  logs  with  wide  chinked  joints  and  a  small  end 
chimney,  curiously  "framed  in"  at  the  base  with  notched  logs. 

On  State  6  is  DISHMAN  SPRINGS  HOTEL  (R),  6  m.,  a  summer  resort  on  a  moun- 
tain lake  in  the  foothills  of  Cumberland  Mountains.  (Golf,  tennis,  fishing,  swim- 
ming, canoeing  for  hotel  guests;  small  fee  to  others.) 

At  2.7  m.  on  old  US  25E  is  the  junction  with  25E. 

At  18.5  m.  on  the  new  US  25E  is  the  junction  with  State  225. 

Right  on  this  road  to  (L)  the  MINTON  HICKORY  FARM  AND  STABLES  (open  on 
request),  0.4  m.,  where  the  Minton  Hickory  saddle  horses  are  trained.  From  this 
stable  have  come  such  champions  as  the  Feudist,  Vendetta,  Mountain  Echo,  Etta 
Kett,  Mountain  Laurel,  Fiery  Crags,  and  Maiden  Blush. 


276  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

The  MINTON  HICKORY  MILL  (R),  1.1  m.,  manufactures  golf  shafts,  broom  han- 
dles, and  canes.  Hickory  grown  in  the  Kentucky  Mountains  is  a  standard  material 
for  golf  clubs.  This  factory,  which  has  become  widely  known,  has  a  yearly  output 
of  1,500,000  shafts. 

FLAT  LICK,  27.9  m.  (986  alt.,  500  pop.),  straggling  along  the  road, 
was  one  of  the  old  salt  licks  and  a  center  of  life  in  pioneer  times. 

PINEVILLE,  36.9  m.  (1,025  alt.,  4,000  pop.),  a  growing  mining 
town  and  the  seat  of  Bell  County,  lies  within  a  bend  of  the  Cumber- 
land River  at  a  gap  in  Pine  Mountain  called  the  Narrows.  In  1797 
the  Kentucky  Legislature  appropriated  500  pounds  sterling  for  the 
repair  of  the  Wilderness  Road  and  for  the  erection  of  a  tollgate  at  the 
Narrows.  This  tollgate,  around  which  early  Pineville  developed,  was 
the  first  ever  established  in  the  State  and  the  first  to  be  abandoned 
(1830).  The  newer  part  of  the  town  is  built  around  CUMBERLAND 
FORD  (L),  where  the  trail  crossed  the  Cumberland  River. 

The  Indians  who  visited  this  region  and  camped  here  for  long  sea- 
sons left  many  remains.  Near  Cumberland  Ford  is  an  INDIAN  MOUND, 
10  to  15  feet  in  height  and  100  feet  in  circumference,  which  was  a  pre- 
historic burying  ground. 

An  Indian  effigy  carved  out  of  yellow  pine  was  found  on  a  cliff  near 
Pineville  in  1869.  This,  believed  to  be  the  only  thoroughly  preserved 
wooden  prehistoric  image  found  in  Kentucky,  is  now  in  the  Museum 
of  the  American  Indian,  Heye  Foundation,  New  York  City. 

Pineville  is  now  a  shipping  point  for  lumber  and  for  four  large  coal 
fields  that  are  within  a  short  distance  of  the  town. 

Schools,  bands,  and  bugle  corps,  representing  a  large  section  of  coun- 
try around  Pineville,  meet  here  for  the  annual  Cumberland  Valley 
Music  Festival  (May).  Contests  as  well  as  concerts  feature  the  pro- 
grams. 

A  winding  foot  path  leads  from  Pineville  to  one  of  the  best-preserved 
INDIAN  ROCK  SHELTERS  in  Kentucky.  This  enormous  structure,  tradi- 
tionally an  ancient  habitation,  is  near  the  top  of  the  mountain  (R) 
overlooking  the  town. 

At  37.3  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  119  (see  Tour  19). 

At  38.2  m.  is  the  entrance  (R)  to  4,000-acre  PINE  MOUNTAIN 
STATE  PARK  (adm.y  10$;  overnight  camping,  25$;  lodge;  picnic 
facilities,  boating  and  swimming).  Established  in  1928,  this  was  the 
first  State  park  in  Kentucky.  Within  the  park  the  PINNACLE  OF 
PINE  MOUNTAIN  (2,200  alt.)  is  accessible  by  a  road.  The  plant 
life  is  characteristic  of  the  Cumberland  Range;  on  the  uplands  are 
holly,  spruce,  pine,  wahoo,  dogwood,  scarlet  chestnut,  oak,  red  maple, 
spicebush,  wintergreen,  mountain  laurel,  rhododendron,  azaleas,  and 
many  varieties  of  wild  flowers  and  ferns.  Black  willows,  river  birch, 
blue  beech,  and  giant  sycamores  grow  along  the  banks  of  Clear  Creek, 
which  winds  through  about  60  acres  of  the  lowlands.  Chimney  Rock, 
Sharktooth  Rock,  and  Candlestick  Rock  are  among  the  most  interest- 
ing of  the  park's  geologic  formations. 


TOUR    4A  277 

Near  the  center  of  the  reserve  is  LAUREL  COVE,  a  natural  amphi- 
theater in  which  the  Mountain  Laurel  Festival  is  held  annually  (two 
days  in  May  or  June).  A  stone  cliff  is  the  backdrop  of  the  stage 
constructed  of  local  stone  and  banked  on  each  side  with  laurel  and 
rhododendron  bushes  and  giant  wahoo  trees.  Mountain  ballads  are 
played  and  sung,  original  plays  presented,  and  folk  dances  performed 
by  the  mountain  people.  A  queen  selected  from  the  college  girls  of 
the  State  is  crowned  with  mountain  laurel  by  the  Governor  of  Ken- 
tucky. With  the  exception  of  the  Kentucky  Derby,  this  festival  is 
the  most  important  annual  event  in  the  State. 

At  38.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  190. 

Right  on  this  road  to  CLEAR  CREEK  SPRINGS  2  m.,  a  recreational  center 
and  religious  resort  within  Pine  Mountain  Park.  It  was  established  by  members 
of  the  Baptist  churches  of  Pineville  and  Middlesboro  who  hold  encampments  and 
schools  here  during  the  summer  months. 

MIDDLESBORO,  50.9  m.  (1,150  alt.,  10,350  pop.),  trading  center 
and  largest  town  of  southeastern  Kentucky,  was  named  for  the  iron 
city  of  the  English  Midlands.  Though  the  first  settlers  had  entered 
Kentucky  through  near-by  Cumberland  Gap,  they  were  seeking  fertile 
lands  easy  to  cultivate,  and  this  deep  circular  valley,  surrounded  by 
mountains  seamed  with  coal,  limestone,  and  deposits  of  iron,  was  ig- 
nored for  nearly  a  century.  In  1885  Col.  Alexander  Allen  Arthur,  a 
Scottish-Canadian  mining  engineer,  surveyed  the  region  and  realized 
its  industrial  possibilities. 

British  investors  supplied  the  capital,  a  large  tract  was  bought,  and, 
in  1889,  settlers  began  to  arrive.  Within  a  year  6,000  people  were 
leveling  forests  and  clearing  fields,  and  two  railroads,  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville,  and  the  Southern,  were  being  built  to  the  new  city  whose 
wide  streets  bore  the  names  of  English  shires.  By  1890  Middlesboro 
had  10,000  inhabitants.  Hotels,  stores,  and  churches  had  been  com- 
pleted as  well  as  an  artificial  lake  and  one  of  the  first  golf  courses  in 
the  United  States. 

But  with  the  fall  of  the  great  London  banking  house  of  Baring 
Brothers  and  Company,  in  1893,  Middlesboro,  as  well  as  its  other  proj- 
ects, was  abandoned.  At  the  same  time  money  was  tight  in  this  coun- 
try and  the  banks  nearly  paralyzed.  Middlesboro's  streets  were  de- 
serted, its  hotels  and  stores  empty.  Recovery  was  slow,  but  eventually 
the  coal  mines  brought  about  prosperity.  Today  there  are  modern 
schools,  fine  homes,  handsome  churches,  theaters,  clubs,  and  banks. 
The  importance  of  coal  in  the  development  of  Middlesboro  is  pub- 
licized by  the  COAL  HOUSE  (open),  on  Cumberland  Ave.,  the  office  of 
the  Middlesboro  Chamber  of  Commerce,  built  of  solid  blocks  of  local 
coal. 

BARTLETT-RHODES  PARK  (R),  near  the  southern  outskirts  of 
the  town,  has  a  recreation  hall,  a  swimming  pool,  and  tennis  courts. 

FERN  LAKE  (boating  and  fishing  $1),  20th  St.  extended,  approxi- 
mately one  mile  south  of  the  business  center  of  Middlesboro,  is  the 


278  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

source  of  the  city's  water  supply.  The  lake  is  surrounded  by  mountains 
whose  gentle  slopes,  rising  from  the  water's  edge,  are  covered  with  a 
dense  growth  of  hardwood  trees  and  shrubs,  interspersed  with  pine, 
spruce,  and  hemlock.  Ferns  grow  in  great  profusion  along  the  banks 
which  are  gay  in  the  spring  with  the  snowy  white,  deep  rose,  and  lilac 
blooms.  The  winding  lake  is  two  and  one-half  miles  long  and  is  fed 
by  mountain  springs  and  streams  issuing  from  massive  sandstone  ledges, 
along  a  seven-mile  watershed.  It  has  been  converted  into  a  wild-game 
sanctuary. 

The  MIDDLESBORO  COUNTRY  CLUB  (open  for  a  small  fee),  at  the 
western  outskirts  of  the  city,  has  an  unusually  sporty  golf  course  that 
is  kept  in  excellent  condition.  The  view  from  the  veranda  of  the  club- 
house is  unsurpassed  in  this  section. 

Right  from  Middlesboro  on  State  74,  hard-surfaced,  to  a  junction  with  an  im- 
proved road,  12  m.;  R.  here  to  HENDERSON  SETTLEMENT  SCHOOL,  20  m.,  founded 
by  H.  M.  Frakes.  This  school  has  transformed  the  surrounding  isolated  region 
from  one  notable  for  lawlessness  to  a  quiet,  peace-abiding  community.  Here  both 
boys  and  girls  from  an  inaccessible  mountain  region  receive  training,  part  of  which 
they  earn  by  manual  labor.  Activities  include  cooking,  farming,  dairying,  weav- 
ing, spinning,  woodwork,  and  allied  crafts  and  occupations. 

CUMBERLAND  GAP,  53.8  m.,  on  the  dividing  line  of  Virginia  and 
Kentucky  on  the  north,  and  Tennessee  on  the  south,  is  a  trough  be- 
tween hills  thickly  covered  with  laurel  and  rhododendron.  It  was 
through  this  pass  in  the  Appalachians,  called  by  the  Indians  Quasioto 
(pronounced  Wah-see-o-to ;  the  mountains  where  deer  are  plenty)  that 
Dr.  Thomas  Walker  entered  Kentucky  in  1750.  Hunters,  explorers, 
and  pioneers  followed  Dr.  Walker,  and  in  1769  John  Finley  led 
Daniel  Boone  into  this  uninhabited  western  region.  Two  years  later 
Boone,  in  his  own  words,  Returned  to  my  family,  being  determined  to 
reside  in  Kentucky  which  I  esteemed  a  second  paradise."  He  returned 
in  1775,  and  behind  him,  through  Cumberland  Gap  and  over  the  brow 
of  Pinnacle  Mountain,  came  pioneers  from  the  settled  East  with  toiling 
oxteams  and  horses  laden  with  household  goods  for  their  new  homes 
in  the  wilderness.  It  is  recorded  that  as  many  as  20,000  passed  through 
in  one  season. 

About  1850  Henry  Clay,  riding  from  his  home  near  Lexington  to 
speak  to  the  mountain  people,  halted  at  the  gap.  Someone  asked  him 
why  he  lingered.  "I  am  listening,"  he  said,  "to  the  tread  of  the  coming 
millions." 

In  the  gap  is  the  junction  with  the  Skyland  Highway. 

Left  on  Skyland  Highway  (adm.  40$  each  person;  40$  each  car),  which  reveals 
alluring  vistas  at  every  turn  as  it  gradually  ascends  to  the  PEAK  OF  PINNACLE 
MOUNTAIN  (2,860  alt.),  2  m.  From  this  point  on  clear  days  is  a  view  extending 
for  50  miles  over  a  sea  of  blue-crested  timbered  ridges,  jagged  cliffs,  ravines,  and 
Fern  Lake.  Here  also  are  the  RUINS  OF  FORT  LYON.  During  the  War  between 
the  States  this  was  one  of  the  strategic  points  held  in  turn  by  the  contending  Con- 
federate and  Union  Armies,  and,  as  the  tides  of  battle  moved  eastward,  abandoned 
by  both. 


TOUR    4B  279 

Left  from  the  saddle  of  the  gap  on  a  trail  that  leads  to  SOLDIERS'  CAVE  (permis- 
sion to  visit  obtained  at  L.M.U.,  at  Harrogate,  Tenn.,  2  m.  S.  of  Cumberland 
Gap),  0.5  m.,  now  owned  by  Lincoln  Memorial  University.  Soldiers'  Cave,  said 
to  have  been  discovered  by  Confederate  soldiers  while  digging  a  rifle  pit,  has  war 
reminiscences  cut  on  the  walls  and  into  the  stones. 

KING  SOLOMON'S'  CAVE  (permission  to  visit  obtained  at  L.M.U. ),  3  m.,  has  a 
series  of  apartments  or  smaller  caves  that  follow  the  contour  of  the  mountain  in 
a  horizontal  direction.  Within,  a  river  rushes  over  a  cataract  20  to  30  feet  high. 

Among  the  many  smaller  caves  in  this  section  are  LEWIS  CAVE,  WELL  HOLE,  and 
SALTPETER  CAVE  where  early  inhabitants  obtained  saltpeter  for  making  gunpowder. 

At  54.4  m.  US  2SE  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  14  miles  north  of 
Tazewell,  Tenn.  (see  Tenn.  Tour  3). 


Tour  4B 


Corbin— Cumberland  Falls  State  Park— Parker's  Lake;  30.2  m.  State 
90. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

Good  accommodations  at  Cumberland  Falls  State  Park. 

State  90  branches  west  from  US  25  (see  Tour  4)  at  CORBIN,  0  m., 
(1,046  alt.,  8,026  pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  and  passes  through  a  primitive 
sparsely  settled  region  of  great  natural  beauty.  The  road,  winding 
over  low  hills,  offers  far-reaching  views  of  purple  and  blue-green  moun- 
tains and  short  fertile  valleys. 

From  LOOKOUT  POINT  (R),  15.6  m.,  an  elevation  surrounded  by 
walls  of  natural  stone,  is  a  wide  view  of  row  upon  row  of  distant  blue 
peaks  and  deep,  thickly  wooded  gorges. 

CUMBERLAND  FALLS  STATE  PARK,  18.6  m.  (open  May  15- 
Oct.  1;  adm.  10$;  hotel  accommodations,  $1.50  and  up;  furnished 
cabins,  $1  a  day;  overnight  camping  25$;  bathhouses,  picnic  facilities). 

This  park,  covering  500  acres  of  virgin  forest,  was  the  gift  in  1930 
of  T.  Coleman  duPont,  a  Kentuckian.  It  is  rough  mountainous  coun- 
try cut  by  the  Cumberland  River,  which  threads  its  way  over  a  rocky 
course  through  the  rugged  hills. 

CUMBERLAND  FALLS,  68  feet  high  and  125  feet  broad,  has  an 
average  flow  of  3,600  cubic  feet  of  water  a  second.  Immediately  be- 
hind the  falling  sheet  of  water  is  a  recess  in  the  rock  wall,  which  makes 
it  possible  to  go  almost  across  the  river  through  the  arch  formed  on  one 
side  by  the  rock  and  on  the  other  by  the  flashing  waters.  Below  the 
falls  are  many  whirlpools  and  rapids  in  the  river  as  it  flows  for  seven 
miles  through  a  boulder-strewn  gorge,  whose  cliffs  are  300  to  400  feet 
high. 


280  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

A  winding  trail  leads  from  the  falls,  half  a  mile  down  the  river  to 
LITTLE  EAGLE  FALLS,  small  but  picturesque,  surrounded  by  heavily 
wooded  hills.  It  is  said  that  this  spot  was  regarded  as  a  sacred  place 
by  the  Indians  who  guarded  it  day  and  night  and  even  fought  a  battle 
(the  Indian  Battle  of  Shiloh)  in  its  defense.  On  the  south  side  of 
the  river  is  a  CLIFF  WALK,  a  narrow  ledge  high  above  the  water,  which 
winds  around  the  shoulders  of  the  hill  until  it  reaches  a  shelter  house 
at  the  top. 

A  fine  growth  of  yellow  pine  crowns  the  ridges,  while  on  the  steep 
slopes  and  ravines  leading  down  to  the  river  is  a  mixed  forest  growth 
of  hemlock,  tulip,  magnolia,  oak,  sweetgum,  dogwood,  and  holly,  the 
latter  especially  abundant  and  of  large  size.  Azalea,  rhododendron, 
spicebush,  Stewartia,  blueberry,  St.-John's-wort,  and  strawberry  bush 
are  among  the  many  plants. 

The  old  MOONBOW  INN,  on  a  ledge  above  the  falls,  is  so  named  be- 
cause in  the  full  of  the  moon  Cumberland  Falls  has  a  moonbow,  a 
spectrum  formed  in  the  mist — one  of  the  few  to  be  seen  on  this  conti- 
nent. Moonbow  Inn  is  a  rambling  two-story  frame  structure,  erected 
in  the  1860's,  and  later  restored.  The  main  building  forms  an  ell  that 
faces  the  falls.  A  two-story  porch  extends  entirely  across  the  fagade 
next  to  the  river. 

DuPoNT  LODGE,  named  in  honor  of  T.  Coleman  du  Pont,  stands  on 
a  ridge  overlooking  the  Cumberland  River,  one  mile  from  the  falls. 
It  is  built  of  wood  and  stone. 

The  900,000-acre  CUMBERLAND  NATIONAL  FOREST,  encir- 
cling Cumberland  Falls  State  Park,  contains  thousands  of  acres  of 
virgin  timber  and  a  variety  of  wild  game  including  deer,  black  bear, 
and  smaller  fur-bearing  animals,  as  well  as  wild  turkey,  quail,  and 
waterfowl. 

A  thickly  wooded  region  of  hills  lies  between  the  Cumberland  River, 
crossed  by  a  ferry  (free),  and  PARKER'S  LAKE,  30.2  m.  (1,256  alt., 
200  pop.),  which  is  at  the  junction  with  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 


Tour  5 


Warsaw — Frankfort — Lawrenceburg — Harrodsburg — Danville — James- 
town— Albany — (Chattanooga,  Tenn.);   State  35. 
Warsaw  to  Tennessee  Line,  187.7  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  between  Warsaw  and  Liberty,  graveled  between  Liberty 
and  Jamestown,  and  graded  between  Jamestown  and  Tennessee  Line. 
Southern  Ry.  parallels  route  between  Lawrenceburg  and  Danville. 
All  types  of  accommodations  in  larger  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 


TOUR    S  28l 

This  route  runs  through  a  sparsely  settled  hilly  area,  fine  stock  farms 
of  the  Bluegrass,  many  small  old  towns,  and  the  wooded  foothills  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains. 

WARSAW,  0  m.  (459  alt.,  800  pop.)  (see  Tour  12),  is  at  the  junc- 
tion with  US  42  (see  Tour  12). 

South  of  Warsaw  State  35  winds  across  the  outer  Knobs  area,  which 
borders  the  Ohio  Valley.  Small  farms  lie  in  the  fertile  bottom  lands, 
and  along  the  hillsides  flocks  of  sheep  graze  on  the  abundant  grass 
and  clover.  The  wool  produced  in  this  region  is  of  fine  quality. 

On  almost  every  farm  are  patches  of  burley  tobacco,  usually  two 
acres  or  larger.  The  cultivation  of  tobacco  requires  such  a  large 
amount  of  hand  labor  that  acreage  is  limited  by  the  amount  of  help 
obtainable.  The  average  tobacco  field,  cared  for  by  one  man  and  his 
family,  rarely  exceeds  10  or  12  acres.  Cultivation  begins  as  early  as 
February  with  the  burning  over  of  the  seedbed  to  destroy  parasites 
and  weeds.  In  March  and  April  the  seeds  are  planted  in  cold  frames 
and  protected  from  wind,  hail,  and  sudden  changes  in  temperature  by 
thin  white  muslin  stretched  above  the  beds.  In  May  or  June  the 
young  plants  are  set  in  rows  in  ground  that  has  been  fertilized  and 
brought  into  good  tilth  by  plowing  and  harrowing.  The  planting  is 
usually  done  with  a  horse-drawn  transplanter  that  opens  a  furrow, 
releases  water  at  set  intervals,  and  covers  up  the  roots  of  the  young 
plants,  which  a  man  drops  into  the  ground.  While  the  crop  is  growing 
it  is  sometimes  dusted  (though  there  is  danger  of  the  poison  remaining 
on  the  leaves),  the  worms  are  removed,  and  tops  and  suckers  are  broken 
off  by  hand.  When  the  crop  is  ready  for  harvesting  in  August  or  Sep- 
tember, the  tobacco  plants  are  cut  by  hand  and  placed  six  on  a  stick 
either  by  splitting  the  stalk  almost  to  the  base  and  inverting  it  over 
the  stick  or  by  piercing  the  stalk  near  the  base.  To  protect  the  leaves 
from  bruises,  the  tobacco  plants  are  carried  to  the  barn  on  trucks  or 
wagons  equipped  with  frames  that  hold  the  sticks  horizontally  so  the 
stalks  hang  in  a  vertical  position  several  inches  apart.  In  the  barns 
it  is  hung  up  to  dry,  without  the  aid  of  artificial  heat.  After  curing, 
the  tobacco  is  stripped  and  graded  into  "hands,"  the  term  used  for  a 
marketable  unit.  The  hands  are  sorted,  according  to  grade,  into 
baskets,  each  of  which  is  sold  separately  on  the  tobacco  sales  floor. 
Droning  monotonously  in  a  jargon  that  is  understood  by  only  the 
initiate,  the  auctioneer  walks  between  the  rows  of  baskets.  Buyers 
stand  among  the  crowd  of  spectators  and  when  ready  to  buy  give  a  sign 
to  the  auctioneer  who  promptly  announces,  "Sold!"  Prices  vary  widely 
according  to  grade  and  general  demand.  The  yield  may  exceed  $500 
an  acre,  or  may  not  even  compensate  the  farmer  for  his  labor.  After 
the  auction  the  purchaser  packs  the  tobacco  in  hogsheads  and  stores 
it  for  aging,  a  process  that  sometimes  requires  two  years.  The  aged 
tobacco  is  again  carefully  graded  to  meet  the  standards  required  by 
various  brands  and  purposes. 


282  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

In  SPARTA,  9  m.  (500  pop.),  are  nurseries  specializing  in  ever- 
green trees  and  shrubs.  Here,  too,  are  the  remains  of  old  EAGLE 
CREEK  COVERED  BRIDGE. 

At  15.5  m.  is  the  junction  (R)  with  US  227  (see  Tour  12 A).  Be- 
tween this  point  and  Owenton,  State  35  and  US  227  are  united. 

OWENTON,  22.8  m.  (1,000  alt.,  975  pop.)  (see  Tour  12A),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  227  (see  Tour  12 A)  and  State  22  (see  Tour  13). 

Between  Owenton  and  23.4  m.  State  35  and  US  227  are  united. 

South  of  Owenton  the  highway  winds  down  steep  hills  and  around 
sharp  curves  to  the  valley  of  the  Kentucky  River,  frequently  affording 
wide  views  of  blue-green  hills  and  deep  waters. 

MONTEREY,  32.9  m.  (203  pop.),  nestled  at  the  foot  of  the  hills 
in  a  valley  between  towering  green  palisades,  is  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Kentucky  River  and  Eagle  Creek  (fishing;  camp  sites).  Near  Monte- 
rey is  POND  BRANCH,  where  the  water,  rising  from  springs,  flows 
through  an  old  channel  of  the  Kentucky  River. 

At  45.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  private  roadway. 

Left  on  this  road  5  m.  to  the  old  INNES  HOUSE,  on  the  farm  of  Joe  D.  Bradburn, 
Jr.  (inquire  at  farmhouse  for  permission  to  visit).  This  two-story  hewn-log  house, 
on  a  stone  foundation,  was  built  by  Harry  Innes  during  the  last  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Innes  subsequently  became  first  U.S.  District  Judge  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

The  house,  now  dilapidated,  stands  on  a  ridge  between  two  dry  forks  of  Elkhorn 
Creek — a  vantage  point  from  which  the  approach  of  Indians  could  easily  be  ob- 
served. Shortly  after  its  completion,  Indians  went  on  the  warpath  in  this  region 
and  the  settlers  gathered  at  Innes'  Station,  as  the  house  was  then  called,  for  pro- 
tection. The  house  was  besieged  for  several  hours  but  its  occupants  withstood  the 
attack  without  loss  of  life.  Loopholes  are  plainly  visible  between  the  logs  of  the 
second  floor. 

CEDAR  COVE  SPRING,  51  m.  (R),  was  the  source  for  the  first  public 
water-supply  system  in  Kentucky,  established  in  1804.  The  water  was 
transported  to  Frankfort  and  the  penitentiary  in  wooden  pipes  laid  by 
Richard  Throckmorton. 

FRANKFORT,  52.6  m.  (512  alt.,  11,626  pop.)   (see  Frankfort). 

Points  of  Interest:  Old  State  Capitol,  State  Cemetery,  Liberty  Hall,  and  others. 

Frankfort  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16). 

South  of  Frankfort  State  3  5  ascends  a  hill  from  which  is  an  excellent 
view  (L)  of  the  town  lying  in  the  Kentucky  River  Valley,  the  new 
State  Capitol,  and  the  Governor's  mansion. 

The  STEWART  HOME  TRAINING  SCHOOL  (open),  56  m.,  is  (L)  a 
private  institution  for  the  education  of  backward  children.  Its  main 
buildings,  surrounded  by  a  spacious  lawn  and  landscaped  gardens,  are 
set  in  500  acres  of  bluegrass  and  forest. 

ALTON,  62.3  m.  (112  pop.),  was  originally  named  Rough  and 
Ready  in  honor  of  Zachary  Taylor. 

LAWRENCEBURG,  66.7  m.  (788  alt.,  1,763  pop.)  (see  Tour  14), 
is  at  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14). 


TOUR    5  283 

At  69.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  McBrayer  Rd. 

Right  on  this  road  to  BOND'S  MILL  COVERED  BRIDGE,  2.5  m.,  over  the  Salt  River. 
This  is  one  of  the  few  century-old  covered  bridges  in  the  State. 

In  SALVISA,  75.2  m.  (500  pop.),  is  (R)  the  SAMUEL  McAFEE 
HOUSE  (private),  built  in  1790  by  Samuel  McAfee.  The  house,  now 
called  the  Gabe  Hall  Place,  stands  on  a  spacious  lawn  through  which 
a  little  creek  flows.  The  clapboarded  log  structure  has  a  deep  two- 
story  portico  and  vine-covered  end  chimneys. 

The  NEW  PROVIDENCE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  (L),  78.5  m.,  is  a 
rectangular  brick  structure  with  gabled  roof,  the  gable  end  being  pierced 
by  a  half  moon  "sentinel"  window  that  is  now  boarded  up.  The  long 
rectangular  windows  and  high  pilasters  accentuate  the  severe  lines. 
This  structure,  whose  construction  was  begun  in  1861  and  completed 
in  1864,  is  the  fourth  occupied  by  the  congregation  since  it  was  founded 
in  1784  by  the  Reverend  David  (Father)  Rice,  a  circuit  rider,  who  for 
many  years  conducted  services  here  at  intervals.  The  McAfee  brothers, 
Scotch  Presbyterians,  contributed  the  site  and  erected  the  first  church, 
a  log  structure,  which  they  opened  in  1785,  as  an  offering  to  Providence 
for  saving  them  in  the  Indian  attack  of  1781. 

McAFEE,  79.7  m.  (100  pop.),  was  named  for  the  adventurous 
McAfee  brothers. 

Right  from  McAfee  on  the  Talmadge  Pike  to  the  JAMES  McArEE  HOUSE  (open 
by  request),  1.2  m.  (R),  built  in  1790  by  James  McAfee,  oldest  of  the  brothers. 
It  is  a  two-story  gable-roofed  house,  said  to  have  been  modeled  after  the  builder's 
home  in  Armagh,  Ireland.  The  walls  of  the  house  are  built  of  partly  dressed  field 
stone  in  random  sizes  and  are  30  inches  thick.  The  interior  woodwork  is  hand- 
carved.  Some  of  the  strap  hinges,  badly  worn,  appear  to  be  those  on  which  the 
doors  originally  swung. 

On  the  fagade  of  the  McAfee  house  is  a  bronze  marker  erected  in  tribute  to  the 
founders  of  McAfee  Station — James,  George,  and  Robert  McAfee,  and  James  Mc- 
Coun,  James  Pawling,  and  Samuel  Adams.  These  pioneers  came  in  July  1773  from 
Botetourt  County,  Virginia,  and  surveyed  land  in  Kentucky.  Indian  wars  kept 
them  in  Virginia  during  the  succeeding  year,  but  1775  found  them  again  among  the 
canebrakes,  where  they  cleared  the  ground  and  planted  an  orchard  along  Salt  River, 
returning  the  same  year  to  Virginia  because  of  Indian  hostilities. 

In  1779  the  McAfees  returned  with  their  families  to  Kentucky  and  built  a  for- 
tified hamlet  on  Salt  River.  The  stockade,  on  the  south  side,  was  little  more  than 
a  barricade,  and  there  were  but  13  men  in  the  garrison.  On  May  4,  1781,  ignoring 
the  uneasiness  of  the  dogs  and  cattle — domestic  animals  reacted  to  the  smell  of  an 
Indian  as  they  did  to  that  of  a  wild  beast — the  stock  was  turned  loose,  and  four 
of  the  men  went  out  to  work.  Two  of  them  with  a  horse  started  towards  the 
corncrib.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  stockade  their  path  dipped  into  a 
hollow;  here  they  suddenly  came  on  Indians.  At  the  first  fire  one  of  the  men  was 
killed,  and  the  other  who  had  started  running  toward  home,  was  intercepted  by 
an  Indian  who  leaped  into  the  path  directly  ahead  of  him.  Though  both  fired  at 
once,  the  Indian's  gun  missed  and  he  was  killed.  The  survivor  reached  the  fort  in 
safety. 

When  the  other  two  men,  who  had  gone  to  work  in  the  turnip  patch,  heard  the 
shooting  they  seized  their  guns  and  ran  toward  the  sound  but  were  alarmed  by 
the  number  of  Indians  and  turned  back  to  the  fort,  trying  to  drive  the  frightened 


284  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

stock  in  as  they  went.  One  of  the  men  reached  the  gate  safely;  the  other,  being 
cut  off,  took  a  roundabout  route  through  the  woods.  He  outdistanced  all  but  one 
of  his  pursuers,  a  Shawnee  chief  whom  he  finally  killed  after  jumping  a  fence  in 
the  cleared  ground  around  the  fort  and  crouching  in  the  weeds  till  the  Indian 
peered  over  the  fence  and  thus  exposed  himself  to  the  settlers'  fire. 

Those  inside  the  stockade  had  closed  the  gate  and  grasped  their  rifles  the  mo- 
ment the  first  shots  were  heard.  One  man  who  hid  under  a  bed  was  found  by  his 
wife,  dragged  out,  and  made  to  run  bullets  with  the  women  and  children.  When 
the  Indians  rushed  the  fort,  they  were  driven  off  at  once,  one  of  their  number 
being  killed  and  several  badly  wounded,  while  but  one  of  the  defenders  was  slightly 
injured.  In  a  short  time  45  horsemen,  headed  by  Captain  McGarry,  galloped  up 
from  Harrodsburg  where  they  had  heard  the  firing.  The  Indians  retreated  immedi- 
ately. McGarry  halted  long  enough  to  allow  the  McAfee  men  to  bridle  their 
horses,  then  began  pursuit.  In  the  fight  that  followed,  the  white  men  dismounted, 
and  both  sides  took  shelter  behind  tree  trunks.  After  two  more  Indians  had  been 
killed,  the  others  scattered. 

HARRODSBURG,  86.5  m.  (871  alt.,  4,029  pop.)  (see  Harrods- 
burg), is  at  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

Between  Harrodsburg  and  Danville  the  gently  rolling  highway 
traverses  a  fertile  agricultural  region  containing  many  fine  old  homes. 

It  is  in  this  region  that  the  male  elite  of  the  villages  once  gathered 
in  the  fall  of  the  year,  after  a  few  heavy  frosts,  to  enjoy  'possum  or 
coon  suppers — a  long-established  Kentucky  institution.  The  prepara- 
tion of  these  dishes  was  an  especial  achievement  of  the  old-time  black 
mammy  who  boasted  that  she  could  make  anybody  eat  'possum  or 
coon  and  like  it. 

FAIR  OAKS  (R),  87.6  m.,  was  built  about  1845  by  Dr.  Guilford  D. 
Runyon,  a  Shaker  who  renounced  his  vows  of  celibacy  and  erected  the 
house  in  anticipation  of  his  marriage  to  Miss  Kate  Ferrel,  who  died 
before  the  house  was  completed.  Doctor  Runyon  remained  a  bachelor 
until  his  death  in  1873.  The  house,  of  Georgian  Colonial  design,  is  a 
two-story  brick  structure,  with  two-story  porches  on  each  side.  The 
ends  of  the  porches  are  sheltered  by  screens;  those  of  the  second  floor 
are  beautifully  carved  with  a  willow  leaf  and  tendril  motif.  A  six- 
room  wing  at  the  rear  and  a  Greek  Revival  portico  with  four  massive 
Ionic  columns  have  been  added.  The  doorway  is  flanked  by  columns 
of  similar  order  and  the  fagade  is  embellished  with  elaborately  carved 
lintels.  The  two-room  brick  cottage,  still  standing,  served  as  the 
kitchen  and  dining  room  for  the  "big  house"  during  the  life  of  Doctor 
Runyon. 

The  CALDWELL  HOUSE  (R),  93.4  m.,  erected  in  1823  by  Jere- 
miah Clemens  for  his  daughter,  Elizabeth  Caldwell,  is  constructed  of 
local  limestone.  A  spacious  front  porch  with  massive  Ionic  columns  is 
formed  by  recessing  the  central  portion  of  the  fagade.  Some  years 
after  completion  the  outer  walls  were  stuccoed  and  painted  white. 

DANVILLE,  96.4  m.  (955  alt.,  6,279  pop.),  on  the  southern  edge 
of  the  Bluegrass  region,  is  the  seat  of  Centre  College  and  of  the  State 
school  for  the  deaf.  It  has  wide  tree-shaded  streets  and  fine  old  homes, 
built  in  the  Greek  Revival  style.  It  was  founded  in  1775.  Ten  years 
later  the  Supreme  Court  of  Virginia  made  it  the  seat  of  government 


TOUR    5  285 

west  of  the  Alleghenies  and  ordered  court  buildings  erected  here.  At 
Danville  were  held  the  nine  conventions  preceding  the  admission  of  the 
State  into  the  Union.  The  most  noted  of  Kentucky's  pioneers  served 
as  delegates.  A  center  of  culture  in  pioneer  days,  Danville  dropped 
from  political  leadership  upon  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government, 
June  4,  1792 — the  day  on  which  Isaac  Shelby  was  inaugurated  as  first 
Governor  of  Kentucky — but  regained  a  small  measure  of  prestige  by 
the  establishment  of  a  district  court  that  operated  here  from  1 796  until 
1803.  From  the  latter  date  the  town  was  without  a  court  until  Boyle 
County  was  formed  from  parts  of  Mercer  and  Lincoln  in  1842.  Dur- 
ing the  years  of  political  eclipse,  the  citizens  of  Danville  turned  to 
educational  affairs,  and  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  established  the 
institutions  for  which  it  is  now  noteworthy. 

CENTRE  COLLEGE,  in  the  western  part  of  town,  a  liberal  arts  school 
endowed  for  more  than  $1,000,000,  was  chartered  in  1819,  and  is  under 
the  joint  management  of  the  northern  and  southern  synods  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  The  administration  building  of  the  college  (L)  on 
Main  St.  is  a  striking  example  of  Greek  Revival  architecture.  Among 
the  graduates  of  Centre  are  some  of  Kentucky's  illustrious  sons,  in- 
cluding Beriah  Magoffin,  Governor  of  Kentucky,  class  of  1834;  Maj. 
Gen.  John  C.  Breckinridge,  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  (1856), 
and  defeated  by  Lincoln  for  the  Presidency,  class  of  1839;  Robert  C. 
Wickliffe,  Governor  of  Louisiana,  class  of  1840;  and  George  A.  Vest, 
Senator  from  Missouri,  class  of  1848.  The  Centre  College  football 
team,  known  as  the  "Praying  Colonels,"  astonished  the  sports  world 
in  1920  when  it  defeated  some  of  the  strongest  teams  in  the  country. 
The  students'  annual  year-end  festival  arouses  State-wide  interest  be- 
cause of  the  age  and  prestige  of  the  institution  and  the  elaborate  char- 
acter of  the  celebration.  The  crowning  of  a  carnival  king  and  queen 
is  accompanied  by  a  number  of  allied  events  covering  several  days. 
Although  Centre  College  is  not  co-educational,  its  president  and  board 
of  trustees  also  direct  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  town  a  school  for 
women  formerly  called  Caldwell  College. 

The  old  DANVILLE  COURT  SQUARE  (R),  on  Main  St.  between  1st 
and  2d  Sts.,  was  once  Virginia's  western  capitol. 

In  the  MCDOWELL  HOUSE,  123  S.  2d  St.,  on  December  25,  1809, 
before  the  discovery  of  methods  of  anesthesia,  Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell 
performed  the  first  successful  ovariotomy. 

Doctor  McDowell,  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  was  born  in  Augusta 
County,  Virginia,  November  11,  1771.  His  father,  Samuel  McDowell, 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  first  Kentucky  court  in  1783  and  president  of 
the  convention  that  framed  the  first  constitution  of  Kentucky,  took  his 
family  to  Danville  when  Ephraim  was  12  years  old.  Ephraim  studied 
anatomy  and  surgery  with  Dr.  Alex  Humphreys  of  Staunton,  Virginia, 
and  in  1793-94  attended  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  where  he  was 
for  a  time  the  private  pupil  of  Dr.  John  Bell.  He  left  the  university 
without  his  degree,  and  returned  to  Danville,  where  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine.  In  December  1809,  called  to  treat  Mrs.  Jane  Todd 


286  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Crawford  of  Greensburg,  Doctor  McDowell  told  his  patient  an  exam- 
ination had  convinced  him  that  her  only  chance  for  relief  was  a  dan- 
gerous internal  operation  that  he  had  never  before  ^performed,  but  was 
ready  to  undertake  if  she  would  come  to  his  home  in  Danville.  Mrs. 
Crawford,  frantic  from  pain,  set  out  immediately  and  made  the  journey 
of  60  miles  on  horseback  in  a  few  days. 

The  doctor  improvised  an  operating  room  in  his  home.  The  patient 
was  placed  on  a  long  wooden  table  covered  with  a  blanket.  She  was 
fully  dressed  and  perfectly  conscious  of  every  movement  of  the  surgeon 
and  his  assistants.  To  restrain  her  involuntary  muscles,  and  permit 
the  surgeon  to  work,  men  held  down  her  arms  and  legs  with  force. 
During  the  operation  Mrs.  Crawford  repeated  the  Psalms.  Later  Doc- 
tor McDowell  reported,  "In  five  days  I  visited  her,  and  much  to  my 
astonishment  found  her  engaged  in  making  her  bed.  I  gave  her  par- 
ticular caution  for  the  future  and  she  returned  home  as  she  came,  in 
good  health,  which  she  continues  to  enjoy."  Mrs.  Crawford  was  47 
at  the  time  of  the  operation  and  died  at  the  age  of  78.  This  operation, 
the  first  ovariotomy  performed  in  this  country,  was  not  considered  im- 
portant by  McDowell  himself.  However,  after  seven  years,  he  was 
persuaded  to  publish  in  the  Eclectic  Repertory  and  Analytical  Review, 
Volume  VII,  an  account  of  this  operation  and  of  several  others  of 
similar  nature  which  he  had  performed  later.  The  announcement  met 
with  indifference,  incredulity,  and  even  ridicule,  and  many  years  passed 
before  his  work  began  to  receive  recognition.  Doctor  McDowell  con- 
tinued to  practice  medicine  until  his  death,  June  20,  1830.  The  resi- 
dence, a  simple  two-story  clapboarded  structure  with  its  24-paned  win- 
dows and  transomed  doorway,  and  the  adjoining  one-story  brick  apoth- 
ecary shop,  have  been  restored  with  the  aid  of  Federal  funds.  The 
house  and  grounds  were  given  to  the  State  by  the  Kentucky  Medical 
Association  to  be  administered  through  the  State  Park  Commission  as 
a  memorial  to  Doctor  McDowell  and  to  Jane  Todd  Crawford,  his 
patient. 

MCDOWELL  PARK,  5th  St.,  between  Main  and  Market  Sts.,  contains 
a  monument  to  Doctor  McDowell  and  one  to  Jane  Todd  Crawford. 

The  KENTUCKY  DEAF  INSTITUTE  was  founded  in  1823.  Many 
trades  are  taught  here,  including  printing  and  domestic  science,  as  well 
as  academic  subjects. 

The  PHILLIP  YEISER  HOUSE,  135  Lexington  Ave.,  designed  in  the 
Classic  Revival  style  and  built  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  is  con- 
structed of  brick  covered  with  plaster.  The  house  is  on  a  wide,  shady 
lawn  that  is  slightly  above  the  street  level.  The  older  central  unit  of 
two  stories  is  flanked  by  high  one-story  wings,  which  have  balustraded 
roofs.  There  is  a  pedimented  portico. 

Central  Kentucky's  FIRST  POST  OFFICE,  established  in  1798,  oc- 
cupied the  corner  of  a  room  in  the  old  house  at  310  W.  Walnut  St. 
This  building,  now  used  as  a  dwelling,  has  been  weatherboarded  and 
has  an  addition  of  a  one-story  wing.  Originally  built  of  hewn  logs,  the 
structure  was  rectangular  in  plan  and  a  story  and  a  half  high.  The 


TOUR    5  287 

dormers  seem  to  be  part  of  the  original  plan.     Gen.  Thomas  Barbee 
was  the  first  postmaster. 

Left  from  Danville  on  State  34,  an  improved  road,  to  PARKSVILLE,  8  m.  (228 
pop.),  is  one  of  the  most  important  berry -growing  sections  of  the  State.  Here 
the  residents  of  the  village  and  neighboring  farms  follow  an  ancient  Indian  custom 
of  holding  a  religious  ceremony  early  in  the  spring  to  pray  for  bountiful  crops. 
The  ceremonial  as  revived  by  the  Berry  Growers'  Association,  includes  music, 
prayer,  and  scripture  reading.  The  extent  to  which  raspberries  are  grown  in  this 
region  is  a  result  of  several  years'  effort  on  the  part  of  the  county  farm  agents, 
who  recognized  that  the  hilly,  rocky  land,  on  which  many  of  the  farmers  were 
attempting  to  make  a  living,  was  not  suited  to  the  crops  they  were  trying  to  grow. 

WARRENWOOD  (R),  99.3  m.,  was  built  approximately  in  1847  on  part 
of  a  tract  of  land  owned  by  Capt.  William  Warren,  who  came  from 
Virginia  in  1776.  The  two-story  house,  of  brick  burned  on  the  grounds, 
is  of  the  Gothic  Revival  type.  Practically  all  the  work  was  done  by 
the  slaves  of  John  F.  Warren ;  he  and  his  brother,  Samuel  Warren,  were 
the  first  owners  and  builders. 

JUNCTION  CITY,  101.4  m.  (731  pop.),  is  a  railroad  crossing. 

Left  from  Junction  City  on  the  Stanford  Pike,  an  improved  road,  to  the  SITE 
OF  TRAVELER'S  REST,  3  m.,  home  of  Isaac  Shelby,  first  Governor  of  Kentucky 
(1792-96)  who  served  again  in  1812-16.  The  old  house,  constructed  of  stone  by 
Thomas  Metcalf  in  1786,  was  destroyed  by  fire  a  number  of  years  ago  and  has 
been  replaced.  The  graveyard,  in  which  Shelby  and  members  of  his  family  were 
buried,  is  near  by. 

HUSTONVILLE,  110.1  m.  (504  pop.),  an  old  town  lying  in  a  rich 
agricultural  section,  was  first  called  New  Store,  later  renamed  Huston's 
Villa,  and  then  Hustonville. 

LIBERTY,  125.1  m.  (549  pop.),  seat  of  Casey  County,  is  at  the 
headwaters  of  the  Green  River  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  Pennyrile 
and  on  the  southern  edge  of  the  Knobs  belt.  Liberty  was  named  by 
veterans  of  the  Revolutionary  War  who  came  to  this  section  from 
Virginia  in  1791.  Col.  William  Casey,  a  pioneer  in  whose  honor  the 
county  was  named,  established  a  station  near  Green  River  for  protec- 
tion during  the  Indian  wars.  Associated  with  Colonel  Casey  was 
Christopher  Riffe,  who  in  1793  bought  from  the  grandfather  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  800  acres  of  land  in  what  is  now  Casey  County. 

RUSSELL  SPRINGS,  147  m.  (1,080  alt.,  500  pop.),  a  resort  long 
known  as  Big  Boiling  Springs,  was  ifor  many  years  operated  by  mem- 
bers of  the  family  of  Sam  Patterson,  first  settler.  When  the  spring  was 
found  to  have  a  high  iron  and  sulphur  content,  a  dozen  log  cabins, 
called  Long  Row,  were  built  for  the  accommodation  of  visitors.  In 
1898  Long  Row  was  replaced  by  a  frame  hotel  that  is  still  in  operation. 
The  old  cylindrical  sandstone  capping  of  the  spring  has  been  replaced 
with  concrete. 

Russell  Springs  is  at  the  junction  with  State  80  (see  Tour  18). 

JAMESTOWN,  154.1  m.  (950  alt.,  410  pop.),  seat  of  Russell 
County,  was  first  called  Jacksonville  in  honor  of  Andrew  Jackson.  By 


288  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

1826  the  Whigs  came  into  power  and,  resenting  the  tribute  to  their 
opponent,  changed  the  name  to  Jamestown,  honoring  James  Wool- 
dridge  who  had  donated  110  acres  for  a  town  site.  Along  Water  and 
Main  Sts.  in  Jamestown  are  numerous  old  clapboarded  log  houses. 
Outstanding  among  these  are  the  J.  R.  MCFARLAND  HOUSE  and  the 
OTHA  WELLS  HOUSE,  the  oldest  structures  in  the  town.  An  annual 
community  singing  contest  is  held  in  the  courthouse  on  the  last  Sunday 
in  August. 

1.  Right  from  Jamestown  on  the  Greasy  Creek  Rd.,  unimproved,  to  the  GREASY 
CREEK  WOOLEN  MILL,  1  m.,  an  old  water-power  mill  that  manufactures  cloth  and 
knitting  yarns.    Many  farmers  bring  their  fleeces  to  be  processed  here,  paying  for 
the  work  with  a  part  of  the  raw  wool.    Near  by  is  the  KARNES  GRISTMILL,  one 
of  four  in  operation  in  the  county.    The  mills  here  were  established  before  the  War 
between  the  States. 

2.  Left  from  Jamestown  on  the  Somerset  Rd.,  unimproved,  to  INDIAN  CAVE,  3 
m.,  in  a  bluff  75  feet  high.     Its  entrance  pierces  the  mountain  side  to  a  depth  of 
about  20  feet  in  a  straight  line  and  then  continues  in  a  meandering  path  for  more 
than  300  feet.     Several  large  chambers  branch  from  the  main  passageway.     A 
stream  near  the  cave  pours  into  the  Narrows,  a  gorge  that  is  only  two  feet  wide 
at  some  points.    Near  by  is  the  SHINBONE,  a  peculiarly  shaped  hill  that  is  about 
100  feet  high  and  averages  30  feet  in  width  at  its  base.    Its  rocky  sides  are  covered 
with  low-growing  bushes.    Big  and  Little  Lily  Creeks  meet  about  300  yards  above 
the  Narrows  through  which  Lily  Creek  cascades  to  the  Shinbone,  which  it  encircles. 

South  of  Jamestown  the  route  continues  through  a  hilly  region,  cross- 
ing Cumberland  River  by  way  of  a  free  ferry. 

The  name  of  SEVENTY-SIX  FALLS  (L),  178.1  m.,  indicates  the 
number  of  feet  down  which  Indian  Creek  drops  perpendicularly.  Near 
the  basin  into  which  the  creek  plunges  it  sinks  into  the  earth  but 
emerges  again  after  a  subterranean  flow  of  about  one-half  mile,  only 
to  fall  another  10  feet  into  a  watermill  pond,  the  dam  of  which  adds 
an  additional  15-foot  drop. 

The  route  passes  SEWELL  MOUNTAIN  (1,720  alt.),  a  spur  (L) 
of  the  Cumberland  Mountains. 

ALBANY,  181.9  m.  (964  alt.,  852  pop.)  (see  Tour  20),  is  at  the 
junction  with  State  90  (see  Tour  20). 

South  of  Albany  JENNY'S  KNOB  (L)  is  visible  for  miles  along 
the  highway. 

State  35  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  187.7  m. 


Tour  6 


( Indianapolis,    Ind. )  — Louisville — Bardstown — Hodgenville — Glasgow 
— Scottsville— ( Nashville,  Tenn.) ;  US  31E. 
Indiana  Line  to  Tennessee  Line,  147.8  m. 


TOUR    6  289 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  parallels  route  between  Louisville  and  Bardstown,  and 

between  Scottsville  and  the  Tennessee  Line. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  cities ;  limited  elsewhere. 

US  3 IE,  the  Jackson  Highway,  winds  over  the  central  part  of  the 
State,  which  is  rolling  or  hilly  for  the  most  part.  Towns  of  any  size 
are  far  apart,  and  except  for  some  truck  gardening  near  Louisville,  the 
farms  along  this  highway  hold  to  the  typical  Kentuckian  pattern  in 
that  they  chiefly  produce  corn  and  tobacco,  or  are  given  over  to  the 
raising  of  livestock.  The  winter  scene  is  flat  in  tone  except  for  the 
evergreens  and  the  orange  of  sage  grass;  but  in  April  and  May,  the 
woods  are  gay  with  the  bloom  of  redbud  and  dogwood,  and  brilliant 
through  the  fall  with  the  contrasting  colors  of  the  frosted  leaves. 

US  3 IE  crosses  the  Indiana  Line,  0  m.,  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio 
River,  and  crosses  the  river  itself  on  a  toll  bridge  (toll  25$),  eight  miles 
south  of  Sellersburg,  Indiana  (see  Ind.  Tour  13). 

LOUISVILLE,  0.8  m.  (525  alt.,  307,745  pop.)  (see  Louisville). 

Points  of  Interest:  Speed  Museum,  Memorial  Auditorium,  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Churchill  Downs,  Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  Cherokee  Park. 

Louisville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  31W  (see  Tour  7),  US  60  (see 
Tour  16),  and  US  42  (see  Tour  12). 

The  flat  country  immediately  south  of  Louisville  is  bare  and  brown 
in  winter,  but  green  with  potato  plants  and  other  truck-farming  vege- 
tables in  summer.  Farther  south  the  land  is  rolling  and  clumps  of 
evergreens,  fields  of  corn,  and  grass  pastures  appear  by  the  roadside; 
then,  at  17.4  m.,  a  series  of  rounded  hills,  darkened  by  a  notched 
plume  of  evergreens,  appear  on  both  sides  of  the  highway.  These  are 
the  Knobs  that  rim  the  Bluegrass  plains.  Red  cedars  and  old  oak  or 
gum  trees,  the  latter  often  entwined  with  mistletoe,  are  common  along 
this  route. 

FARMINGTON  (L),  5.2  m.,  is  the  house  built  in  1810  by  John 
Speed  who  came  with  his  father  over  the  Wilderness  Road  from  Virginia 
to  Kentucky  in  1782.  A  long  avenue  bordered  with  trees  leads  to  the 
one-and-one-half-story  house  of  brick.  The  wide  recessed  entrance 
provides  additional  space  under  the  portico  which  has  an  elliptical 
window  in  the  pediment.  The  doorway  is  ornamented  on  each  side 
with  four  reeded  pilasters,  side  lights,  and  it  has  a  segmental  arched 
fanlight  above,  all  beautifully  executed.  The  wide  central  hallway 
opens  into  two  large  front  rooms  and  into  two  octagonal  rooms  behind 
them.  The  ceilings  of  the  first  floor  are  15  feet  high,  the  windows 
have  nine-paned  sashes  and  in  the  octagonal  rooms  are  hand-carved 
wooden  mantels  identical  in  design  and  ornamentation,  one  of  the  fea- 
tures of  which  is  a  gleaming  metal  eagle.  A  short  distance  from  the 
house  stand  the  brick  smokehouse,  the  remains  of  an  old  stone  stable, 
and  a  stone  spring  house.  James  Speed,  one  of  the  sons  of  John  Speed, 
was  Attorney  General  under  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Joshua,  another 
son,  was  Lincoln's  intimate  friend  at  Springfield,.  Illinois.  In  1841, 


2QO  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Lincoln,  after  an  early  love  affair  turned  out  unhappily,  spent  most  of 
the  summer  and  fall  here. 

MOUNT  WASHINGTON,  20.9  m.  (686  alt.,  350  pop.),  was  a  flour- 
ishing community  on  the  stage  turnpike  from  Louisville  to  Nashville 
as  early  as  1800.  The  settlement  was  first  known  as  The  Crossroads, 
then  as  Mount  Vernon ;  finally,  by  order  of  postal  authorities,  as  Mount 
Washington. 

The  two-story  BRIDWELL  HOUSE  (R),  built  in  1797  of  rough  hewn 
poplar  logs,  has  been  little  altered  since  it  was  constructed. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  Salt  River,  26.1  m.,  US  3  IE  suddenly  comes 
alongside  of  a  great  bottom  land  (L)  far  below  the  highway.  The 
bottom  is  zoned  out  like  a  model  city  into  neat,  flat  fields  of  corn  and 
soil-building  crops.  In  the  center  are  two  small  stands  of  second-growth 
timber,  rivulets  cross  the  entire  area,  and  here  and  there  are  a  few 
farmhouses  and  barns.  An  ornamental  stone  wall  by  the  roadside 
forms  a  parking  space  for  those  who  wish  to  enjoy  the  view. 

COX'S  CREEK,  32.5  m.  (40  pop.),  was  named  for  Col.  Isaac  Cox, 
who,  with  a  small  band  of  settlers,  built  a  fort  here  in  1775. 

At  37.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  the  entrance,  0.3  m.,  to  NAZARETH  JUNIOR  COLLEGE  AND 
ACADEMY  (R),  a  Roman  Catholic  school  established  in  1814.  The  administration 
building,  with  its  imposing  portico,  is  approached  by  an  avenue  shaded  with  oaks 
and  maples.  The  school  has  a  library  of  more  than  15,000  volumes,  including  sev- 
eral rare  ones;  a  museum  with  an  extensive  collection  of  geological  specimens;  and 
a  number  of  old  paintings,  one,  ADORATION  OF  THE  MAGI,  is  a  copy  of  the  one  in 
Madrid  by  Peter  Paul  Rubens  and  may  have  been  made  in  his  workshop. 

BARDSTOWN,  39.8  m.  (637  alt.,  1,767  pop.)  (see  Tour  15),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14)  and  at  the  northern  junction 
with  US  68  (see  Tour  15).  US  3 IE  and  US  68  are  united  for  58.5 
miles. 

The  route  passes  the  TOM  MOORE  DISTILLERY,  40.4  m.  (permission 
necessary  to  mew  plant),  whose  large,  silver-painted  warehouses  range 
along  the  road  (R).  AsUS31E  climbs  a  plateau,  the  land  levels  back 
from  the  highway  in  wide,  treeless  spaces  distantly  edged  with  timber; 
and  miles  away  the  dim  hills  throw  a  straight  dark  line  against  the  sky. 
The  road  then  spirals  down  through  a  low,  attractive  group  of  hills 
green  with  stands  of  cedar,  sycamore  and  pine,  and  passes  more  knobs 
pointing  their  cones  to  the  sky. 

NEW  HAVEN,  53.7  m.  (444  alt.,  445  pop.),  a  quiet,  tree-shaded 
town  founded  in  1820,  was  first  called  Pottinger's  Landing.  Harrod's 
company  had  established  a  station  on  Pottinger  Creek  in  1781  and 
Col.  Samuel  Pottinger,  one  of  its  members,  envisaging  this  as  an  im- 
portant shipping  point,  built  a  large  landing  and  warehouse  here  for 
the  storage  of  whisky  and  other  products  that  were  to  be  shipped  on 
flatboats  down  the  Rolling  Fork,  Salt,  Ohio,  and  Mississippi  Rivers  to 
New  Orleans.  Pottinger  renamed  his  town,  it  is  said,  because  he  ad- 
mired New  Haven,  Conn.  While  this  village  never  achieved  the  posi- 


TOUR    6  2QI 

tion  its  founder  had  hoped  for,  large  quantities  of  whisky,  cured  meat, 
and  timber  were  shipped  from  the  area.  The  production  of  whisky 
remains  its  foremost  industrial  activity. 

Left  from  New  Haven  on  State  52,  an  improved  road,  to  the  ABBEY  OF  OUR 
LADY  OF  GETHSEMANE  (open  to  men  only,  adm.  free),  4  m.  This  Trappist  monas- 
tery was  founded  in  1848,  when  the  chapter  of  the  monastery  of  Melleray,  France, 
fearful  of  the  revolution  of  that  year,  determined  to  find  a  home  in  America  for 
a  part  of  their  crowded  community.  The  Trappists  are  Cistercians  of  an  order 
that  came  into  existence  in  1664  after  a  housecleaning  by  Armand  J.  le  B.  de  Ranee 
at  the  abbey  of  La  Trappe.  The  Cistercians  themselves  were  founded  after  a  re- 
form in  the  Benedictine  order,  the  oldest  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Various 
independent  congregations  of  Trappists  arose  after  1664  but  all  were  united  in  the 
Reformed  Order  of  Strict  Observance  in  1892.  This  order  fasts  continually  and 
accepts  the  discipline  of  silence.  The  vow  of  perpetual  silence  holds  except  during 
conference  with  superiors,  when  in  choir,  or  on  other  very  special  occasions.  They 
greet  each  other  in  silence,  with  a  bow,  and  use  sign  language  for  any  necessary 
communication.  One  monk,  as  host  to  the  many  who  visit  the  abbey,  is  released 
from  this  vow. 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Flaget,  first  bishop  of  Louisville,  a 
1,400-acre  tract  of  land,  subsequently  enlarged,  was  purchased,  and  40  members 
under  the  leadership  of  Dom  Proust  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  began  the  difficult 
work  of  clearing  land  and  building  a  home  for  the  order. 

The  abbey,  a  rambling  white  stuccoed  structure  of  Gothic  design,  was  completed 
and  consecrated  in  1866.  The  buildings  form  an  immense  quadrangle,  one  side  of 
which  is  the  church,  also  of  Gothic  design;  this  building,  226  feet  long,  has  a  white 
spire  rising  166  feet.  Within,  sharply  pointed,  cross-ribbed  vaults  are  supported  by 
octagonal  columns  with  delicately  molded  and  foliated  Gothic  caps. 

The  porter's  building  has  a  wide  arched  entrance.  Within  this  long  low  struc- 
ture are  a  small  museum,  a  post  office,  and  a  dressing  room  for  the  only  women 
ever  admitted — the  wife  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  wife  of  Ken- 
tucky's Governor.  Two  walls  connect  this  building  with  the  abbey  proper  and 
enclose  a  quadrangular  garden. 

Behind  the  guest  house  is  the  cloister  garden,  containing  many  rare  shrubs  and 
plants.  In  its  center  is  a  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Gethsemane  above  a  circular 
roofed  shelter. 

The  library  consists  of  more  than  60,000  volumes,  including  ancient  manuscripts 
and  rare  old  liturgical  writings.  More  than  40,000  of  its  volumes  were  donated 
in  1901  by  Monsignor  Batz  of  the  archdiocese  of  Milwaukee.  In  the  abbot's  office, 
adjoining  his  cell,  is  a  small  collection  of  handwritten  and  illuminated  books. 

The  monks  are  divided  into  two  groups,  lay  brothers  who  wear  brown  cassocks 
and  choir  religieuse  who  wear  white.  Morning  devotions  begin  at  2  A.M.  and  last 
until  6  o'clock,  when  there  is  an  hour  for  meditation,  followed  by  a  one-hour  mass. 
From  8  until  11:30  the  monks  do  manual  labor.  Then  the  one  meal  of  the  day  is 
served,  the  food  consisting  usually  of  vegetables  and  milk.  The  afternoon  program 
includes  both  labor  and  devotions,  and  the  day  is  brought  to  a  close  by  vespers 
at  6.  At  7  P.M.  the  brothers  retire  to  their  cells.  The  lay  brothers  devote  eight 
hours  a  day  to  physical  labor,  the  choir  religieuse  but  four.  In  addition  to  the 
monastery's  market,  there  are  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  wheelwright  shop,  a  carpenter 
shop,  a  tinsmith  shop,  and  a  steam  sawmill. 

This  community  is  described  in  James  Lane  Allen's  White  Cowl.  In  1933  there 
were  44  choir  religieuse  and  novices,  40  lay  brothers  and  oblates. 

Also  on  State  52,  in  the  part  of  Kentucky  that  early  became  a  field  of  Roman 
Catholic  immigration  to  the  West,  is  LORETTO  CONVENT  AND  ACADEMY  (open), 
13  m.,  the  outgrowth  of  a  little  school  opened  on  Hardin's  Creek,  Marion  County, 
by  Anne  Rhodes  early  in  1812.  She,  with  four  other  women  who  soon  joined 
her,  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Sisters  of  Loretto,  founded  by  the  Reverend  Charles 
Nerincx.  The  first  home  of  the  order,  about  six  miles  from  the  present  mother- 


HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

house,  was  a  log  cabin  furnished  with  a  table  and  wooden  benches.  Sister  Anne 
Rhodes  became  the  first  mother  superior;  by  1816  the  Sisterhood  had  grown  to  26 
members.  In  1824  the  convent  was  moved  to  St.  Stephen's  Farm,  former  home  of 
the  Reverend  Theodore  Badin,  cofounder  with  Father  Nerincx  of  Roman  Catholi- 
cism in  Kentucky.  In  1888  the  institution  completely  outgrew  its  quarters,  so  new 
buildings  were  erected,  quite  in  contrast  with  the  original  log  houses  of  pioneer 
days.  Brick  buildings  at  the  mother  house  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  large  farm, 
with  orchard,  gardens,  and  fields  for  raising  grain  and  other  food  products.  The 
Sisterhood  has  numerous  branches  throughout  the  South  and  West.  Teachers  for 
these  are  provided  by  a  normal  school  at  Loretto.  This  convent  is  the  locale  for 
James  Lane  Allen's  "Sister  Dolorosa,"  contained  in  his  book,  Flute  and  Violin  and 
Other  Kentucky  Stones. 

South  of  the  Rolling  Fork  of  Salt  River,  56  m.,  the  terrain  is  con- 
siderably broken,  though  there  are  many  areas  of  good  farm  land. 

On  the  SITE  OF  THE  KNOB  CREEK  FARM  (open),  57  m.,  where  the 
Lincoln  family  lived  between  Abraham's  fourth  and  eighth  years,  is  a 
REPRODUCTION  OF  LINCOLN'S  BIRTHPLACE;  the  original  log  cabin  is 
now  at  Lincoln  Memorial  National  Park. 

In  1813  Thomas  Lincoln  and  his  family  moved  from  the  barren 
Sinking  Spring  farm  to  this  region,  where  fish  and  game  were  plentiful 
and  the  soil  unusually  fertile.  In  a  letter  written  in  1860  to  Samuel 
Haycraft,  Abraham  Lincoln  said:  "My  earliest  recollections  are  of  the 
Knob  Creek  place."  For  approximately  three  months  of  the  sojourn 
here  Abraham  Lincoln  trudged  to  school  with  his  sister,  Sarah,  but 
his  teachers  were  inadequately  qualified  and  the  schooling  was  of  little 
practical  value.  At  other  times  the  boy  helped  his  father  with  the 
farming  (sometimes  carrying  corn  seven  miles  to  Hodgen's  mill  to  be 
ground),  hunted  rabbits,  fished,  and  climbed  the  rugged  hillsides  with 
his  companions. 

HODGENVILLE,  65.1  m.  (720  alt.,  1,104  pop.),  seat  of  Larue 
County,  is  one-half  mile  below  the  confluence  of  the  three  branches  of 
Nolin  River.  In  1789  Robert  Hodgen  erected  a  mill  on  his  land.  In 
addition  to  operating  his  mill  and  farm,  he  conducted  a  tavern  or 
"ordinary,"  in  which  many  notables  were  entertained,  including  the 
French  botanist  Michaux,  in  January  1797,  and  the  royal  travelers, 
Louis  Philippe  and  his  brothers,  in  April  1797.  Hodgen  died  in  1810, 
and  soon  afterward  the  settlement  that  had  sprung  up  near  his  tavern 
was  named  for  him.  In  the  public  square  is  a  bronze  STATUE  OF 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  by  Adolph  A.  Weiman,  erected  in  1909  through 
National  and  State  appropriations. 

The  LINCOLN  MEMORIAL  NATIONAL  PARK,  67.9  m.,  is  on 
the  old  Sinking  Spring  Farm  (R),  the  birthplace  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Crowning  an  eminence  within  the  park  is  the  LINCOLN  MEMORIAL, 
an  austere  square  structure  approached  from  a  plaza  by  a  long  flight 
of  steps,  30  feet  wide,  flanked  by  hedges  and  trees.  SINKING  SPRING, 
its  waters  still  sweet  and  clear,  is  protected  by  stone  walls  and  flagging 
at  the  foot  of  the  knoll. 

The  memorial,  designed  by  John  Russell  Pope,  is  built  of  Connecti- 
cut pink  granite  and  Tennessee  marble.  Across  the  front  are  six 


TOUR    6  293 

granite  Doric  columns;  similar  columns  frame  three  grilled  openings  on 
each  side.  Over  the  entrance  is  carved  "With  Malice  Toward  None 
with  Charity  for  All."  On  the  rear  inside  wall  are  inscribed  the  life 
stories  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks. 

Marble  tablets  bear  quotations  from  Maurice  Thompson  and  Edwin 
Markham  and  Lincoln's  simple  one-paragraph  autobiography. 

In  the  center  of  the  building  stands  the  log  cabin  that  is  believed  to 
have  been  the  BIRTHPLACE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  When  the  cabin 
was  restored  and  placed  within  the  walls  of  the  Memorial  Building,  its 
size  was  reduced  slightly.  It  is  now  12  feet  wide  and  17  feet  long  and 
its  walls  are  11  logs  high.  The  spaces  between  the  logs  are  chinked 
with  clay,  and  a  clay-lined  log  chimney  stands  at  one  end.  A  small 
window  gives  the  only  light,  and  the  doorway  is  so  low  that  a  man  of 
average  height  must  stoop  when  entering. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  the  grandfather,  came  to  Kentucky  from  Virginia 
between  1782  and  1784  (see  Tour  16).  His  son,  Thomas  Lincoln,  and 
Nancy  Hanks  were  married  at  Beechland  in  Washington  County  in 
1806  (see  Tour  15  and  Harrodsburg),  and  set  up  housekeeping  at  Eliza- 
bethtown  (see  Tour  7). 

In  December  1808  Thomas  Lincoln  purchased  this  farm  on  the  South 
Fork  of  Nolin  River,  and  came  here  with  his  wife  and  daughter.  In 
the  short  time  he  lived  on  it,  he  farmed  a  few  acres,  hunted,  and  did 
carpentry  work  for  other  farmers.  Hardin  County  tax  records  show 
that  he  was  taxed  for  possession  of  a  few  horses.  On  February  12, 
1809,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born,  and  in  1811  another  son,  Thomas, 
was  born  and  died.  In  1813,  possibly  because  of  a  dispute  over  title  to 
the  land,  the  Lincoln  family  moved  to  a  Knob  Creek  farm  where  they 
lived  until  they  moved  to  Indiana. 

In  1894  Alfred  Denett  of  New  York  purchased  110^  acres  of  land, 
including  the  site  of  the  log  cabin  in  which  Abraham  Lincoln  is  believed 
to  have  been  born.  This  was  all  but  10  acres  of  the  Lincoln  tract.  The 
log  cabin  was  moved  from  place  to  place  for  exhibition  purposes ;  it  was 
shown  at  the  Tennessee  Centennial  Exposition  at  Nashville,  in  New 
York  City's  Central  Park,  and  at  the  Pan-American  Exposition  in 
Buffalo.  About  1904  it  was  stored  in  the  basement  of  the  Poffenhaufen 
mansion  at  College  Point  on  Long  Island. 

These  exhibitions  aroused  widespread  interest,  and,  as  a  result,  the 
Reverend  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones  of  Chicago  proposed  that  the  Federal 
Government  buy  the  farm.  His  son,  Richard  Lloyd  Jones,  who  was 
managing  editor  of  Collier's  Weekly,  interested  Robert  Collier,  the  pub- 
lisher, in  the  proposal,  and  other  publications  took  up  the  cause.  The 
Lincoln  Farm  Association  was  organized  to  raise  money  for  buying 
both  the  farm  and  the  cabin  and  to  erect  a  memorial  to  Lincoln.  By 
1905  the  organization  had  obtained  sufficient  contributions,  mostly  in 
small  amounts,  to  purchase  the  farm  and  cabin.  The  cornerstone  of  the 
memorial  was  laid  by  former  President  Theodore  Roosevelt  on  February 
12,  1909,  the  centenary  of  Lincoln's  birth,  and  the  completed  structure, 


2Q4  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

containing  the  log  cabin,  was  dedicated  by  former  President  Taft  on 
November  9,  1911. 

A  company,  including  former  President  Woodrow  Wilson,  gathered 
here  on  September  14,  1916,  when  the  property,  together  with  an  en- 
dowment fund  of  $50,000,  was  received  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  New- 
ton D.  Baker,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  as  a  gift  to  the  Nation. 
In  1933  the  property  was  transferred  to  the  control  of  the  Department 
of  the  Interior. 

South  of  Knob  Creek  Farm  for  about  15  miles,  the  land  is  roughly 
level  or  mildly  rolling,  with  occasional  stands  of  timber  by  the  roadside 
and  fields  of  corn  or  tobacco  between  large  pastures.  Sage  grass  makes 
a  green  or  orange  ripple  (depending  on  the  season)  across  the  open 
fields  and  hillsides.  A  few  small  frame  shacks  are  passed,  and  some  old 
log  cabins.  The  road  then  winds  through  and  around  some  high  hills 
well  covered  with  woods,  and  crosses,  at  86.2  m.,  the  Green  River  whose 
deep  emerald  waters  are  bordered  by  low  corn  bottoms  and  large 
sycamores. 

The  Green  River  country,  of  the  subsistence  farming  type,  is  often 
poor  or  depleted,  and  a  Kentuckian  who  is  trying  to  describe  an  angular 
woman  will  say,  "She's  as  bony  as  the  hips  of  a  Green  River  cow." 
Natives  add  to  their  income  through  the  sale  of  handicraft  articles. 
Along  US  3  IE  in  the  vicinity  of  Green  River  are  roadside  displays  of 
baskets,  colored  pottery,  quilts,  bedspreads,  and  embroidered  cushions. 
The  quilts  and  bedspreads  have  designs  in  bright  colors. 

South  of  the  Green  River,  US  3 IE  winds  through  hills  overlooking 
small  valleys,  meets  several  small  trading  centers  where  blue-shirted, 
overalled  school  boys  play  along  the  highway,  and  then  enters  open 
rolling  country.  This  is  a  cave  region  and  sinkholes — called  "goose 
nests"  by  the  natives — small  caves,  and  sinking  streams  are  prevalent. 

At  98.3  m.  is  the  southern  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

ADAIRLAND  (R),  104.7  m.,  is  a  large  stock  farm  whose  rolling  pas- 
tures spread  back  from  the  highway  for  a  considerable  distance,  latticed 
at  regular  intervals  by  the  white  fences  enclosing  a  dozen  or  more  grass 
fields.  A  long,  white-fenced  lane  leads  straight  to  a  two-story  frame 
house,  also  painted  gleaming  white,  with  a  high  portico.  Large  white 
barns  stand  nearby.  The  red  roofs  of  the  house  and  the  barns  contrast 
pleasantly  with  the  green  of  the  pastures  and  the  white  of  the  buildings 
and  paddocks;  landscape  and  architecture  combine  to  form  a  scene  of 
geometrical  orderliness  and  beauty.  Adairland  is  more  suggestive  of 
the  Lexington  horse  farm  area  than  any  other  farm  along  this  route. 

GLASGOW,  112.1  m.  (780  alt.,  5,042  pop.),  a  lively,  bustling  town, 
is  the  business  center  of  a  petroleum-producing  field.  It  was  named 
for  Glasgow,  Virginia,  in  1799.  This  area  was  settled  by  Virginians 
who,  after  the  Bluegrass  section  of  Kentucky  had  been  filled,  moved 
farther  west  into  the  Barrens,  then  an  almost  treeless  plateau.  Long 
before  the  advent  of  the  white  man,  the  forests  of  this  region  had  been 
burned;  the  abundance  of  grass  on  this  prairie  provided  an  excellent 
grazing  ground  for  big  game.  The  trees  of  the  area  are  younger  and 


TOUR    6  295 

therefore  smaller  than  those  of  the  eastern  section  of  the  State.  Maj. 
John  Gorin,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  was  the  first  to  settle 
here  on  a  land  grant  awarded  for  Revolutionary  services.  A  good 
spring  was  the  deciding  factor  in  his  selection  of  a  site  for  his  home- 
stead. Soon  other  settlers,  most  of  them  veterans  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  came  to  take  up  land  grants.  After  the  formation  of  the  county 
Major  Gorin  gave  a  50-acre  tract,  including  the  spring,  as  a  town  site 
and  the  settlement  grew  up  about  the  courthouse  square.  Early  in 
1800  the  Kentucky  Legislature  authorized  a  State  road  between  Lex- 
ington and  Nashville,  Tennessee,  passing  through  Glasgow.  The  first 
stage  traversed  this  road  in  1836. 

Among  early  settlers  from  Virginia  was  Alexander  E.  Spottswood,  a 
general  in  the  Revolutionary  Army  and  the  first  lawyer  to  live  here. 
He  was  the  grandson  of  a  Colonial  Governor  of  Virginia  who  married 
Elizabeth  Lewis,  niece  of  Martha  Washington.  In  addition  to  the 
land  grant  that  General  Spottswood  received  for  his  war  services,  he 
purchased  land  in  Glasgow,  where  he  built  (L)  the  SPOTTSWOOD  HOUSE, 
N.  Race  St.,  two  blocks  from  the  courthouse.  It  was  said  to  have 
been  the  town's  first  brick  building;  it  is  Georgian  Colonial  in  style, 
has  28-inch  walls,  and  contains  eight  rooms  and  a  basement  that  was 
used  as  slave  quarters.  During  the  War  of  1812  much  saltpeter  was 
produced  in  Barren  County.  In  1813  a  powder  mill  was  erected  on 
Coon  Creek  and  the  manufactured  product  was  transported  by  wagon 
through  Lexington  to  Philadelphia.  An  old  battery,  erected  during  the 
War  between  the  States,  is  on  the  western  edge  of  the  town. 

Glasgow  is  at  the  junction  with  State  90  (see  Tour  20)  and  State  80 
(see  Tour  18). 

South  of  Glasgow,  US  3 IE  continues  through  a  countryside  that  is 
rolling  to  hilly.  Many  excellent  farms  skirt  the  highway.  In  this 
section  much  land  is  devoted  to  the  culture  of  berries  and  other  fruit 
for  northern  markets.  Cotton  has  been  grown  successfully. 

After  crossing  Peters  Creek,  124.7  m.,  with  its  old  frame  mill  and 
dam  (L),  the  highway  passes  a  file  of  sycamores  (R)  and  then  crosses 
Barren  River,  126.7  m.,  flush  with  a  low  corn  bottom.  As  Scottsville 
is  approached,  gray,  dilapidated  two-  or  three-room  board  shacks  of 
poor  farmers  are  seen  by  the  roadside. 

SCOTTSVILLE,  137.3  m.  (750  alt.,  1,867  pop.),  seat  of  Allen 
County,  looks  like  many  other  county  seat  towns  in  southern  Ken- 
tucky. It  is  spread  over  a  central  hill  surrounded  by  other  hills.  The 
old  red  brick  courthouse  stands  in  the  center  of  a  round  public  square 
encircled  by  the  highway;  on  its  outside  bulletin  board  are  pasted 
numerous  legal  notices.  Dozens  of  overalled  farmers  or  workingmen 
mill  about  the  place,  exchanging  small  talk  or  laying  down  their  opin- 
ions. Scottsville  was  named  for  Gen.  Charles  Scott,  fourth  Governor 
of  Kentucky;  the  county's  name  was  selected  as  a  tribute  to  Col.  John 
Allen,  who  fell  in  the  Battle  of  the  River  Raisin.  Scottsville  was 
raided  by  guerrillas  in  December  1863. 


296  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Opie  Read,  lecturer  and  writer,  was  once  editor-owner  of  the  Scotts- 
ville  Argus  (see  Literature). 

US  3 IE  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  147.8  m.,  -51  miles  north  of 
Nashville,  Tennessee  (see  Tenn.  Tour  7). 


Tour  7 


(New  Albany,  Ind.) — Louisville — Elizabethtown — Munfordville — Horse 
Cave— Bowling  Green— Franklin— (Nashville,  Tenn.);  US  31W,  the 
Dixie  Highway. 
Indiana  Line  to  Tennessee  Line,  150.9  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  parallels  route  throughout. 

Accommodations  chiefly  in  cities. 

Taking  a  course  through  west  central  Kentucky,  US  31W  runs  near 
the  river  for  a  time,  approaches  it,  and  then  goes  up  the  Salt  River 
Valley.  It  enters  the  Knobs  region  where  the  countryside  lumps  up 
into  small  round  hills  streaked  with  ravines.  Near  the  south-central 
part  of  the  State  the  route  makes  a  great  elbow  curve  through  the 
cavernous  limestone  region  containing  Mammoth  Cave  and  many  other 
subterranean  wonders,  then,  below  Bowling  Green,  runs  through  the 
Pennyrile.  Few  cities  or  towns  line  this  highway.  Corn,  tobacco,  and 
livestock  production  is  the  chief  interest  of  the  countryside. 

The  route  follows  the  general  course  of  the  old  Louisville-Nashville 
stagecoach  road.  Prior  to  the  completion  (1859)  of  the  Louisville  & 
Nashville  R.R.,  travel  over  this  road  was  greater  than  over  any  other 
road  in  Kentucky.  Stephen  McMurtry,  a  Vine  Grove  farmer  who 
lived  within  sight  of  the  pike,  often  had  as  many  as  25  freight  wagons, 
stagecoaches,  and  other  vehicles  rolling  by  in  view  at  the  same  time. 
In  1825  Bayard  Taylor  made  a  journey  over  this  road  to  Mammoth 
Cave,  admired  the  scenery  at  the  mouth  of  the  Salt  River,  and  picked 
up  an  explanation  of  the  phrase,  "going  up  Salt  River."  The  story  he 
got  was  that  in  earlier  days,  when  the  saltmakers  up  Salt  River  were 
the  terror  of  the  countryside,  the  steamboat  captains  subdued  unruly 
members  of  their  crew  by  threatening  to  send  them  up  Salt  River 
among  the  rowdy  saltmakers.  According  to  other  sources,  the  phrase 
originated  in  1832  when  Henry  Clay,  who  had  an  engagement  to  speak 
in  Louisville  during  his  campaign  against  Andrew  Jackson,  was  per- 
suaded by  a  Jackson  man  to  take  a  packet  trip  up  Salt  River.  While 
the  boatman  was  delaying  the  excursion  so  that  Clay  could  not  arrive 
in  Louisville  until  the  day  after  the  rally,  Jackson  apologists  for  Clay's 


TOUR    7  297 

absence  were  explaining  to  the  crowd  at  Louisville  that  he  had  gone 
up  Salt  River  and  had  been  unavoidably  detained.  After  Clay  had 
been  beaten  by  Jackson  in  the  election,  defeated  candidates  were  said 
to  have  gone  "up  Salt  River." 

US  31W  crosses  the  Indiana  Line,  0  m.,  eight  miles  south  of  Sellers- 
burg,  Indiana  (see  Ind.  Tour  13),  by  way  of  a  bridge  (toll  25$)  over 
the  Ohio  River. 

LOUISVILLE,  2  m.  (525  alt.,  307,745  pop.)  (see  Louisville). 

Points  of  Interest:  Speed  Museum,  Memorial  Auditorium,  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Churchill  Downs,  and  others. 

Louisville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  US  3  IE 
(see  Tour  6),  and  US  42  (see  Tour  12). 

Between  Louisville  and  TIP  TOP,  30.6  m.  (793  alt.,  50  pop.),  US 
31 W  and  US  60  are  united  (see  Tour  16).  US  31W  branches  south- 
west from  the  junction  at  Tip  Top. 

FORT  KNOX,  34  m.  (760  alt.,  500  pop.),  is  a  33,000-acre  military 
reservation  on  both  sides  of  US  31W.  The  tract,  including  the  town 
of  Stithton,  was  purchased  by  the  U.S.  Government  in  1917  for  a 
World  War  training  camp  and  named  for  Henry  Knox,  an  artillery 
commander  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  In  1932  the  War  Depart- 
ment designated  the  camp  a  permanent  military  post  and  changed  the 
name  to  Fort  Knox.  In  1933  the  1st  U.S.  Cavalry,  mechanized,  was 
stationed  at  the  post,  and  two  years  later  work  on  the  first  permanent 
structures  was  completed.  Subsequently  the  13th  Cavalry,  mechanized, 
has  been  stationed  here,  the  two  regiments  forming  the  7th  Cavalry 
Brigade,  mechanized. 

In  1936  the  Treasury  Department  built  the  GOLD  BULLION  DE- 
POSITORY (R)  in  which  to  store  about  nine  million  pounds  of  the 
Federal  gold  reserve.  The  treasure  house,  100  feet  square,  is  of  bomb- 
proof construction ;  its  walls  and  roof  are  faced  with  huge  granite  blocks. 
Atop  each  corner  of  the  building  are  machine-gun  turrets  where  guards 
keep  vigil  against  intruders  who  might  attempt  the  risk  of  scaling  the 
high  iron  fence.  Interlaced  steel  coils  with  openings  too  small  to  admit 
a  man's  hand  are  set  in  the  concrete  of  the  walls  as  an  added  protec- 
tion. Constant  inspection  of  the  interior  of  the  two-story  vault,  which 
is  60  feet  long  and  40  feet  wide,  is  maintained  by  means  of  an  open 
space  under  the  floor  and  one  over  the  ceiling;  mirrors  and  brilliant 
lights  make  every  corner  visible.  Supersensitive  microphones  in  the 
vault  are  connected  with  the  central  guardroom.  In  addition  to  the 
vault,  the  building  contains  offices  and  dormitories. 

Bird-dog  field  trials  are  held  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Knox  semi- 
annually  on  varying  dates  in  March  and  November.  The  trials  last 
three  days,  usually  at  a  week  end;  the  spring  meets  are  generally  more 
popular  than  those  held  in  the  fall. 

South  of  Fort  Knox,  US  31W  lopes  off  among  tall,  ragged  cliffs  and 
gorges.  It  winds  through  countryside  splotched  with  stands  of  cedar, 


298  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

pin  oak,  and  scrub  pine.     Daisies  line  the  roadside,  and  gentian  and 
trumpet  vine  break  the  pattern  of  the  near-by  fields.     This  is  good 
country  for  hunting  rabbit,  squirrel,  and  quail. 
At  41  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  unimproved  road.~ 

Left  on  this  road  to  MILL  CREEK  CEMETERY,  7  m.,  in  which  are  the  LINCOLN 
FAMILY  GRAVES  ;  here  lies  the  dust  of  Bersheba  Lincoln,  Abraham's  paternal  grand- 
mother, and  of  Mary  Lincoln  Crume  and  Nancy  Lincoln  Brumfield,  his  aunts. 

At  52  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  unmarked,  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  a  PREHISTORIC  MOUND,  10  m.,  which  has  never  been  exca- 
vated. Near  by  in  a  line  of  cliffs  along  Rough  Creek  are  two  ROCK  SHELTERS  (R) 
on  the  Hugh  Yates  farm.  The  dirt-and-pebble  floors  of  these  shelters  have  yielded 
IS  human  skeletons  and  hundreds  of  artifacts — arrowheads,  tomahawks,  beads, 
pottery,  and  utensils.  Most  of  these  objects  are  in  the  Museum  of  Archeology  of 
the  University  of  Kentucky  (see  Lexington). 

ELIZABETHTOWN,  52.5  m.  (708  alt.,  2,590  pop.),  is  a  county 
seat  laid  out  in  wheel  pattern.  The  hub  is  a  red  brick  courthouse  that 
looks  like  a  modern  rural  school  building.  Around  it  runs  a  narrow, 
traffic-packed  street  broken  at  four  places  by  the  highways  that  enter 
the  town  amidst  the  two-story  shops  that  surround  the  circle.  Beyond 
this  central  business  section  the  radiating  streets  pass  neat,  well-spaced 
dwellings  with  spreading  old  trees  on  the  roomy  lawns. 

Elizabethtown  is  a  busy  trading  center  for  a  rather  large  rural  area 
in  which  livestock,  tobacco,  and  grain  are  produced.  On  county  court 
days,  if  the  Hardin  County  farmer  has  caught  up  with  his  chores,  he 
generally  comes  to  town  to  listen  in  during  the  court  sessions.  On 
Saturdays  he  puts  the  family  into  the  old  car,  or  the  jolt  wagon,  along 
with  farm  products  he  wants  to  trade,  and  they  all  come  to  town  and 
spend  the  day  selling  their  wares,  buying  groceries  and  dry  goods,  and 
wandering  around  with  their  neighbors. 

In  the  fall  of  1780  Capt.  Thomas  Helm,  Col.  Andrew  Hynes,  and 
Samuel  Haycraft  arrived  from  Virginia  and  built  three  stockades  a 
mile  apart  at  the  points  of  a  triangle.  In  1793  Colonel  Hynes  had  a 
town  plat  made  of  his  land,  and  named  it  in  honor  of  his  wife. 

A  familiar  figure  on  the  streets  of  Elizabethtown  in  its  early  days 
was  "Old  General  Braddock,"  a  Negro  belonging  to  the  Vanmeter 
family.  Soon  after  their  arrival,  a  band  of  Indians  began  to  snipe  at 
the  settlement.  The  slave  took  down  a  rifle  and  killed  nine  of  them. 
His  good  aim  discouraged  the  other  Indians,  who  fled.  The  Vanmeters 
were  so  grateful  that  they  gave  him  his  freedom. 

During  the  War  between  the  States  several  skirmishes  took  place 
here  and  on  December  26,  1862,  the  town  was  shelled  by  the  Con- 
federate cavalry  leader,  Gen.  John  Hunt  Morgan.  The  town  was 
strongly  garrisoned  with  a  regiment  of  Illinois  troops,  and  its  defenses, 
brick  warehouses  with  loopholes,  seemed  adequate;  but  Morgan  took 
Elizabethtown  without  much  trouble. 

According  to  local  tradition,  Thomas  Lincoln  lived  here  as  early  as 


TOUR    7  2Q9 

1796.  However  that  may  be,  county  records  show  that  in  1804-05 
he  served  on  juries  here,  guarded  prisoners,  and  was  assessed  for  a 
horse.  He  found  time  to  court  Sarah,  daughter  of  Christopher 
Bush,  but  she  preferred  Daniel  Johnston  to  Thomas  Lincoln.  So  in 
1806  he  married  Nancy  Hanks  (see  Tour  15  and  Harrodsburg),  and 
they  set  up  housekeeping  in  a  log  cabin  and  here  their  first  child, 
Sarah,  was  born.  In  1808  Lincoln  bought  Sinking  Spring  Farm  (see 
Tour  6)  and  moved  his  family  there.  Following  the  death  of  Nancy 
Hanks  in  1818,  Lincoln  came  back  to  Elizabethtown  to  see  whether 
his  former  love,  Sarah,  now  a  widow,  would  reconsider  her  refusal  of 
him.  The  widow  Johnston  accepted  the  widower  Lincoln,  and,  ac- 
cording to  records  in  the  Hardin  County  Courthouse,  they  were  married 
on  December  2,  1819.  Sarah  Lincoln  was  a  kind  and  devoted  step- 
mother to  Thomas  Lincoln's  children,  and  Abraham  cared  for  her  lov- 
ingly after  his  father's  death. 

There  is  a  story  that  in  1813,  when  Thomas  Lincoln  was  living  on 
his  Knob  Creek  farm,  20  miles  away,  a  man  destined  to  precede  his 
son  Abe  in  the  Presidency  stayed  awhile  in  Elizabethtown.  James 
Buchanan,  Sr.,  had  a  lawsuit  pending  in  the  local  courthouse,  and  he 
sent  for  his  son,  James,  Jr.,  a  vigorous  young  lawyer  practicing  in 
Pennsylvania,  to  come  West  and  assist  him.  James,  Jr.,  represented 
his  father  through  several  months  of  litigation.  It  was  the  younger 
Buchanan  who  became  fifteenth  President  of  the  United  States. 

As  early  as  1806  Elizabethtown,  with  22  lawyers,  had  a  reputation 
as  a  legal  center.  Of  the  22,  Felix  Grundy  later  became  a  United 
States  Senator  from  Tennessee  (1829-38);  Thomas  Buck  Reed,  United 
States  Senator  from  Mississippi;  John  Rowan,  United  States  Senator 
from  Kentucky  (1824-30);  Ninian  Edwards,  Territorial  Governor  of 
Illinois  (1809-18);  and  W.  P.  Duvall,  Territorial  Governor  of  Florida 
(1822-34). 

Duff  Green,  later  of  Andrew  Jackson's  Kitchen  Cabinet,  arrived  here 
from  Fairfax  County,  Virginia,  and  became  the  merchant-partner  of 
Maj.  Ben  Helm,  son  of  Capt.  Thomas  Helm.  As  a  child,  Abraham 
Lincoln  often  helped  his  stepmother  do  her  shopping  in  the  Green- 
Helm  store.  They  were  served  by  John  B.  Helm,  a  nephew  of  Ben 
Helm  who  was  to  become  a  Hannibal,  Missouri,  judge.  When  Lincoln 
visited  Hannibal  in  1860  he  searched  out  Judge  Helm.  After  remark- 
ing about  the  changes  40  years  had  made,  Lincoln  introduced  Judge 
Helm  to  his  companions  simply  as  "the  first  man  I  ever  knew  who 
wore  store  clothes  all  the  week  .  .  .  who  fed  me  on  maple  sugar,  when 
as  a  small  boy  I  sat  upon  a  nail  keg  in  his  uncle's  store." 

Another  member  of  the  local  Helm  family,  John  L.  Helm,  was  Gov- 
ernor of  Kentucky  (1850-51,  re-elected  in  1867).  Gen.  Ben  Hardin 
Helm  commanded  the  1st  Kentucky  Cavalry,  dubbed  the  "Orphan 
Brigade"  of  the  Confederate  Army  because  so  many  of  its  officers  were 
killed  in  action.  General  Helm  became  Abraham  Lincoln's  brother-in- 
law  by  marrying  Mary  Todd's  sister,  Emily.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 


300  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

War  between  the  States,  Lincoln  offered  to  appoint  General  Helm 
Paymaster  of  the  U.S.  Army,  but  Helm  declined,  and  became  instead 
a  brigadier-general  in  the  Confederate  Army.  He  was  killed  at  the 
Battle  of  Chickamauga,  September  20,  1863,  while  leading  an  infantry 
brigade"  in  Gen.  J.  C.  Breckinridge's  division. 

Elizabeth  town's  last  contribution  to  the  list  of  successful  sons  was 
John  Young  Brown,  Kentucky  Governor  from  1891  to  1895. 

The  city  has  two  outstanding  private  collections  of  Indian  artifacts 
found  in  Kentucky;  one  is  owned  by  Bell  Smoot,  on  Public  Square,  and 
the  other  by  Ben  Ailes,  of  Poplar  Street.  These  collectors  also  have 
about  3,000  old  firearms. 

In  the  HARDIN  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE  is  a  room  (adm.  free)  housing 
Lincolniana.  These  records  escaped  the  fire  of  1932  which  partly  de- 
stroyed the  old  courthouse.  After  the  structure  was  rebuilt  in  1936, 
they  were  collated  and  placed  in  the  new  building  by  WPA  workers. 

In  the  SMITH  HOTEL,  formerly  the  old  Eagle  House,  erected  early 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  Jenny  Lind  appeared  on  April  5,  1851.  The 
crowd  that  gathered  to  hear  her  sing  was  so  large  that  gracious  Jenny 
went  to  Aunt  Beck  Hill's  Inn,  now  the  Brown-Pusey  Community  House, 
where  she  sang  to  the  townspeople  from  the  stone  steps. 

The  BROWN-PUSEY  COMMUNITY  HOUSE  (open),  cor.  N.  Main  and 
Poplar  Sts.,  was  presented  to  the  city  by  Drs.  W.  A.  Pusey  and  Brown 
Pusey  of  Chicago.  It  was  a  stagecoach  inn  and  called  the  Hill  House; 
Aunt  Beck  Hill,  great-aunt  of  the  community  house  donors,  was  the 
proprietor.  The  simple  two-story  brick  building,  erected  in  1818,  has 
a  low-pitched  gable  roof  and  inside  end-chimneys.  The  lower  two- 
story  ell  in  the  rear  borders  the  side  street.  The  front  of  the  building 
has  long  18-light  windows  in  the  first  story  with  segmental  arch  head- 
ings, a  deeply  recessed  paneled  entrance  door  with  square  transom  and 
simple  frame,  and  a  small  entrance  stoop  with  twin  transverse  flight 
of  steps  and  a  simple  wrought  iron  railing.  The  interior  of  the  house 
has  been  little  changed  and  many  of  the  furnishings  have  been  restored. 
The  garden  behind  the  house  is  planted  in  flowers  particularly  popular 
in  pioneer  days. 

Gen.  George  Custer  lived  next  door  to  the  community  house  (1871- 
73)  while  writing  My  Life  on  the  Plains.  His  stay  was  comparatively 
quiet  but  in  memory  he  was  having  a  stirring  time.  As  his  biographer 
remarked,  "All  rifles  were  trusty  to  Custer,  all  comrades  gallant,  and 
a  horse  was  always  a  noble  steed." 

Elizabeth  town  is  at  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14). 

South  of  Elizabethtown  the  road  winds  between  the  knobs;  some  of 
these  lumpy  outcroppings  are  denuded  of  everything  except  grass, 
others  have  small  stands  of  timber  near  their  crowns.  In  summer- 
time the  light  green  of  tall  cornstalks  blends  with  the  darker  green 
of  the  tiny  tobacco  patches  and  rough  fields;  but  with  fall's  coming, 
dun-colored  wigwams  of  shocks  stretch  across  the  fields  of  stubble,  the 
truncated  tobacco  plants  make  a  dark  brown  stain  upon  the  clay,  and 
large  plots  of  broom  sage  ripple  over  the  fields  and  hillsides. 


TOUR    7  301 

South  of  the  Nolin  River  62.5  m.,  is  a  small  area  of  livestock  farm- 
ing with  substantial  houses  and  multiple  fodder  ricks  bunched  in  the 
fields  that  are  separated  from  the  highway  by  dense  clusters  of  honey- 
suckle. 

The  thick,  dark  shadow  of  a  sizable  evergreen  woods  falls  across 
US  31W  as  it  winds  up  and  around  hills  to  UPTON,  69.8  m.  (402 
pop.),  a  trading  center  that  looks  to  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R. 
for  its  life.  Some  quarrying  is  carried  on  in  the  vicinity. 

Just  south  of  Upton  a  few  ramshackle  frame  houses  appear — one- 
story  affairs  with  one  or  two  rooms,  feebly  lit  through  small-paned 
windows.  They  suggest  a  farm's  outbuildings  rather  than  dwelling 
places.  The  small  plots  surrounding  these  places  are  littered  with 
sundry  articles,  and  the  hand  plow  is  sometimes  seen  in  use.  Here 
live  poor  white  families  who  eke  out  a  borderline  existence.  They 
are  not  representative  of  the  region,  and  their  number  is  small. 

The  highway  dips  up  and  down  as  it  penetrates  a  cheerless  country 
with  jumbled  contours,  veined  by  steady  erosion.  Cornfields  and  pas- 
ture lands  are  plotted  irregularly  over  the  terrain;  here  and  there  a 
bared  stretch  of  dark  red  soil  stands  on  a  drab  hillside.  The  railroad 
tracks  along  the  road  (R)  seem  like  an  intruder  in  this  nearly  primi- 
tive landscape  where  the  dwellings  are  log  cabins  and  big,  black  mules 
take  the  place  of  horses. 

At  73  m.  is  the  junction  with  Ridge  Rd.,  unimproved. 

Right  on  this  road  to  WILLIAM  CAVE  FARM  (L),  13  m.,  on  which  are  many 
rocks  pitted  with  holes,  several  feet  deep,  made  when  the  Indians  used  them  as 
mortars  in  grinding  corn.  In  the  vicinity  are  beds  of  flint  fragments  splintered  off 
during  the  making  of  weapons  and  implements. 

BONNIEVILLE,  77  m.  (846  alt.,  27  pop.),  consists  of  a  few  old 
frame  houses,  on  whose  porches  are  displayed  the  split  white  oak, 
hickory  and  willow  baskets  often  found  on  sale  in  the  South. 

South  of  Bonnieville  the  road  occasionally  moves  close  to  the  hills, 
where  rocks  jut  forward  like  crude  gargoyles.  In  other  places  strug- 
gling corn  patches  waver  over  the  rolling  land ;  a  tangled  thicket  spreads 
along  a  section  of  the  route;  and  the  roadside  embankments,  stripped 
of  grass,  are  red  clay.  The  road  passes  log  cabins  and  frame  shacks, 
peopled  by  families  who  till  their  poor  acres  for  all  they  will  yield. 
They  also  make  excellent  baskets  and  chairs  from  split  white  oak;  for 
several  miles  south  of  Bonnieville,  all  kinds  of  basketry  are  displayed 
by  the  road  or  on  the  little  porches  of  the  houses.  Near  Munfordville, 
Negroes  are  seen  strolling  up  or  down  the  road.  They  live  in  the 
raffish  cabins  and  box-like  houses  near  the  highway. 

At  82  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  unimproved  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  GLEN  LILY  (visitors  welcome)  9  m.,  the  birthplace  of  Simon 
Bolivar  Buckner  (1823-1914),  standing  solitary  in  the  woods  alongside  Green  River. 
The  crude  two-story  rectangular  house  is  of  hewn  logs,  with  a  tin  roof  and  a  nar- 
row gallery  extending  along  three  sides.  The  front  faqade  is  broken  at  the  center  by 
a  clapboarded  section — probably  a  closed-in  breezeway,  or  dog-trot.  It  stands  on 


302  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

what  was  formerly  a  farm  of  1,000  acres.  Near  by  on  the  riverbank  are  the  moss- 
covered  ruins  of  the  old  IRON  FOUNDRY  built  by  General  Buckner's  father  in  1823. 
For  two  years  after  his  graduation  from  West  Point,  in  1844,  Simon  Buckner 
served  as  an  instructor  at  the  institution.  He  resigned  to  take  part  in  the  Mexican 
War;  when  the  War  between  the  States  broke  out,  he  was  made  commander  of 
the  Kentucky  Militia  and  soon  espoused  the  Confederate  cause,  rising  to  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  general.  After  the  Battle  of  Fort  Donelson  he  surrendered  to  General 
Grant,  who  had  been  his  friend  for  many  years  before  the  war.  During  Grant's 
last  illness  General  Buckner  visited  him,  and  he  was  a  pallbearer  at  Grant's  funeral. 
Buckner  was  a  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1887-91)  and  a  candidate  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency  in  1896. 

MUNFORDVILLE,  83.8  m.  (571  alt.,  649  pop.),  named  for  Richard 
I.  Munford,  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1820,  1822, 
and  1827,  is  high  on  the  northern  bank  of  Green  River.  It  is  the  seat 
of  Hart  County,  named  for  Capt.  Nathaniel  G.  T.  Hart,  a  Revolution- 
ary officer.  The  courthouse,  of  the  familiar  red  brick  schoolhouse 
type,  is  on  one  of  the  knolls  that  crop  up  on  the  rough  ground  that 
is  the  town  site. 

The  major  event  in  the  history  of  the  town  was  the  so-called  Battle 
of  Munfordville.  The  Union  fort  here  and  4,000  men  under  Colonel 
Wilder,  together  with  supplies,  artillery,  and  ammunition,  were  cap- 
tured by  Confederate  General  Bragg  on  September  17,  1863,  three 
days  after  an  abortive  attempt  to  take  the  town.  Bragg  succeeded 
in  reaching  Munfordville  in  advance  of  Union  General  Buell,  who  was 
racing  towards  Louisville  to  protect  it  from  the  advancing  Confederates. 
Having  captured  Munfordville,  Bragg  was  in  a  position  either  to  fight 
the  oncoming  Union  forces  or  to  march  into  Louisville  ahead  of  them. 
He  did  neither;  instead  he  marched  away  to  the  east,  leaving  Buell 
free  passage  to  Louisville.  The  withdrawal  from  Munfordville,  and 
the  indecision  shown  by  Bragg  from  that  time  until  his  final  retreat  into 
Tennessee,  were  strongly  condemned  by  the  Southern  press  and  public. 

OLD  FORTIFICATIONS  (R)  are  visible  from  the  highway.  The  MUN- 
FORD INN,  Main  St.,  is  a  two-story  frame  structure  erected  in  1806 
along  an  old  buffalo  trace  that  had  become  a  highway. 

1.  Right  from  Munfordville  on  State  88,  a  partly  improved  road,  to  CUB  RUN, 
14  m.  (760  alt.,  89  pop.).    Left  from  Cub  Run  1  m.  on  an  unimproved  road  to 
the  CASTLE,  a  curiously  shaped  rock  shelter.     The  presence  of  a  hominy  hole, 
kitchen  midden,  arrowheads,  flint  chips,  and  flint  and  bone  tools  attest  Indian 
occupancies.    Practically  all  of  these  relics  are  in  the  Museum  of  Archeology  of  the 
University  of  Kentucky. 

Right  from  State  88  at  the  Castle,  4  m.,  on  a  road  that  leads  to  the  GEORGE 
WADDLE  FARM,  near  which  is  a  row  of  15  ROCK  SHELTERS,  high  above  the  valley 
of  Little  Dog  Creek.  The  dirt  floors  have  yielded  flint  chips,  arrowheads,  scrapers, 
and  human  bones. 

In  a  line  of  cliffs  on  the  W.  A.  Bracher  farm,  across  the  road,  similar  relics  were 
uncovered.  The  arrowheads  from  this  site  have  serrated  edges  and  unusually  broad 
shoulders.  A  sandstone  hominy  hole  rock  weighing  two  tons  was  moved  from 
here  to  the  University  of  Kentucky. 

2.  Left  from  Munfordville  on  State  88  to  CUB  RUN  CAVE,  2  m.,  in  which  lay 
three  human  skeletons.    One  was  that  of  a  child  about  10  years  old. 


TOUR  7  3°3 

The  highway  runs  on  a  long  trestle,  84.1  m.,  high  above  a  broad 
corn  bottom  before  crossing  Green  River.  Floored  with  rough,  loose 
planks  that  rattle  loudly  every  foot  of  the  way,  and  weakly  guarded 
along  the  sides  by  low  wire  fencing,  this  rickety  structure  calls  for 
slow  driving. 

At  85.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  335,  an  improved  road. 

Left  on  this  road  is  MAMMOTH  ONYX  CAVE  (adm.  $2),  3  m.,  containing  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  formations  in  the  cave  area.  The  entrance  is  practically  on 
a  level  with  the  surrounding  terrain,  and  the  floor  slopes  almost  imperceptibly. 
Among  the  many  huge  high-ceiled  chambers  is  Paradise  Garden,  in  which  are  onyx 
trees,  flowers,  human  figures,  and  porticos.  A  giant  Tree  of  Life,  in  onyx  of  many 
hues,  translucent  and  fine-grained,  covers  one  whole  wall  of  another  chamber. 

At  4  m.  in  the  corner  of  a  lonely  pasture  is  a  lone,  unmarked  GRAVE  OF  AN  UN- 
KNOWN CONFEDERATE,  a  16-year-old  Mississippi  boy  who  served  under  General 
Bragg.  While  marching  to  Munfordville  to  reinforce  the  main  body  of  Bragg's 
troops,  a  detachment  of  Confederates  stopped  for  a  drink  of  water  at  a  cool  spring 
near  by.  Worn  out  by  the  pressed  march,  a  young  soldier  scarcely  of  shaving  age 
sat  down  to  await  his  turn  at  the  water.  By  accident  he  kicked  the  trigger  of 
his  gun,  shooting  himself. 

A  wide,  saw-toothed  sweep  of  hills  rims  the  horizon  at  88.8  m.  Trees 
scallop  their  crests  above  small  cultivated  fields. 

HORSE  CAVE,  91.4  m.  (603  alt.,  1,259  pop.),  most  of  which  is 
scattered  away  from  the  road  and  from  a  curious  L-shaped  business 
section,  is  said  to  have  been  so  named  because  Cherokee  used  a  near-by 
cave  as  a  corral  for  stolen  horses.  Another  story  is  that  the  cave 
gained  its  name  when  a  horse  fell  into  it.  A  part  of  the  town  is  built 
over  HIDDEN  RIVER  CAVE  (adm.  $2),  which  has  a  continuously  flowing 
underground  river  with  pearly  white  "eyeless"  fish,  and  the  largest 
known  domes  in  the  area.  Its  entrance  is  more  than  250  feet  wide 
and  450  feet  long.  Hidden  River  Cave  has  never  been  extensively 
explored. 

Between  Horse  Cave  and  Bowling  Green  US  31W  and  US  68  (see 
Tour  15)  unite. 

A  dozen  or  more  WIGWAMS  (R),  94.7  m.,  arranged  in  an  oval,  offer 
a  novel  variation  from  the  usual  tourist  cabins. 

CAVE  CITY,  95.5  m.  (613  alt.,  775  pop.),  is  at  the  junction  with 
State  70,  leading  to  Mammoth  Cave  (see  Tour  7 A). 

Between  Cave  City  and  Bowling  Green,  US  31W  bears  west-south- 
west with  the  hills  (R),  a  third  of  a  mile  away,  a  series  of  humps.  As 
the  route  progresses  southward,  the  hills  (R)  are  darkly  green  with 
thick  masses  of  evergreens,  striped  in  summer  by  the  lighter  green  of 
oak  trees — brownish  in  the  winter.  The  land  gradually  levels  out  for 
a  long  stretch  with  hills  furrowing  the  skyline  (R). 

Scores  of  signs,  arrows,  and  billboards  southwest  of  Cave  City  in- 
sist that  it  is  only  so  many  miles  to  this  or  that  cave.  This  is  cave 
country,  and  dozens  of  cave-owners,  in  spite  of  the  near-by  Mammoth 
Cave,  do  a  good  business.  Roadside  stands  sell  large  and  small  rock 
formations  from  the  caves. 


304  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Though  the  land  may  seem  poor  to  out-of-Staters,  farming  is  the 
occupation  of  most  of  the  people  in  this  region.  Corn,  tobacco,  and 
livestock  are  the  principal  products.  There  is  a  cornfield  every  few 
hundred  yards,  on  a  low,  level  stretch  when  possible,  but  otherwise  on 
rolling  swells.  Every  farm  has  its  tobacco  patch  of  one  to  six  or  eight 
acres.  While  maturing  in  summer,  the  oblong  leaves  of  the  plant  make 
a  green  spread  across  the  fields;  after  harvest,  the  stalks,  left  in  the 
ground,  remain  upright,  richly  brown  through  the  winter.  Large  pas- 
tures hold  grazing  cattle,  a  few  horses,  mules,  and  sometimes  sheep  in 
large  numbers.  Each  farmer  usually  raises  a  few  hogs  for  home  con- 
sumption. Most  farms  have  a  water  pond  near  the  road,  15  to  50  or 
more  feet  in  diameter,  where  the  animals  drink,  and  several  low  hay 
stacks,  with  an  exposed  center  pole,  where  they  can  chew  when  the 
pasturage  is  poor.  A  farmer  in  this  region  may  own  400  or  500  acres 
of  land,  but  timber  stands  and  unproductive  sections  prevent  the  cul- 
tivation of  a  good  part  of  it.  Barns,  seldom  painted,  take  on  a  gray, 
weather-worn  appearance,  that  deepens  with  the  years.  Most  of  them 
are  substantial  enough,  but  here  and  there  a  barn  along  the  way  is  a 
good  subject  for  a  woodcut  romanticizing  decay,  and  the  narrow  dirt 
lanes  that  sometimes  spiral  their  way  across  a  hilly  farm  make  good 
backgrounds.  Farming,  however,  is  relatively  prosperous,  and  the 
houses  are  the  typical  two-story  frame  structures. 

GLASGOW  JUNCTION,  101.8  m.  (623  alt.,  374  pop.),  another 
town  whose  chief  concern  is  the  tourist  and  his  interest  in  caves,  was 
first  called  Three  Forks,  then  Bell's  Tavern.  The  second  name  came 
from  an  inn  built  in  the  1820's  and  operated  by  Col.  William  Bell 
of  Virginia. 

Within  sight  of  the  highway,  near  the  railroad  station,  stand  the 
RUINS  OF  BELL'S  TAVERN  (L).  The  first  structure,  a  rambling  wooden 
affair,  built  in  the  1820's  and  added  to  from  time  to  time  as  patronage 
grew,  was  noted  for  the  hospitality  dispensed  by  its  owner,  Col.  William 
Bell,  a  Revolutionary  officer  from  Virginia.  The  service  was  lavish  and 
the  fare  testified  to  the  epicurean  taste  of  the  owner.  Colonel  Bell 
himself  prepared  his  favorite  appetizer,  peach  brandy  and  honey,  a 
beverage  of  exhilarating  potency,  and  he  was  generous  in  dispensing 
it.  Coffee  was  served  from  a  silver  coffeepot  that  was  carried  from 
table  to  table  by  Shad,  the  "blackest  little  Negro  with  the  whitest 
teeth  anyone  had  ever  seen."  Shad  is  buried  under  an  apple  tree  in 
the  old  orchard. 

Bell's  Tavern  was  a  favorite  meeting  place  for  the  leading  politicians 
of  the  day.  Henry  Clay,  the  Marshalls,  the  Humphreys,  Judge  Rowan, 
and  Aaron  Harding  were  among  the  frequent  guests.  Nathaniel 
Silsbee,  Senator  from  Massachusetts  (1826-35),  wrote  to  a  friend  who 
contemplated  the  journey  to  Nashville: 

"Stop  for  a  day  or  two  at  the  famous  Bell's  Tavern.  Should  you 
arrive  late  at  night  and  find  the  yard  filled  in  with  rough  carts  and 
wagons,  with  perhaps  uncouth  men  or  maybe  Indians  stretched  upon 


VIII.  ALONG  THE  HIGHWAY  II 


•  m  m  l  ^  ••  I 


TROUBLESOME  CREEK  DAM 


IN  THE  LICKING  RIVER  VALLEY 


.*;;.:  ;       ; 


SHEEP  GRAZING 


"    ' 


•gy* 


& 


MOUNTAIN  ROAD 


THE  PASTURE 


CUTTING  BURLEY  TOBACCO 


TOBACCO  CURING 


GRINDING  SORGHUM   CANE 


BOILING  SORGHUM 


1 1 


I.  I  * 


MOUNTAIN  CABIN 


HOME  IN  CUMBERLAND  MOUNTAINS 

•         JFp       H    ^x^7 


HELL-FER-SARTAIN  CREEK 


FARMERS  EXCHANGE 


k 


NAME  ADDRESS 


*&» 


BULLETIN  BOARD  OF  FARMERS  EXCHANGE,  OWENSBORO 


TOUR    7  305 

porch  and  hall  floors,  keep  up  good  heart;  there  will  be  a  comfortable 
bed  for  you,  and  at  breakfast — such  a  breakfast  as  you  have  seldom 
sat  to — you  will  have  for  company  men,  learned  men,  not  unlikely  a 
prince  or  a  potentate,  a  world  famous  actor  or  a  prima  donna;  it  may 
be  all  of  these.  But  mark  you,  should  none  of  these  fall  to  your  share 
you  will  find  in  your  host  a  cultivated,  charming  gentleman  who  can 
keep  up  his  end  of  the  conversation  with  even  you.  There  is  no  other 
hostelry  of  its  like  upon  the  length  of  the  continent." 

After  the  death  of  Colonel  Bell,  his  son's  widow,  Mrs.  Robert 
Slaughter  Bell,  maintained  the  tavern's  reputation  until  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  about  1858.  Mrs.  Bell  planned  to  build  a  magnificent 
stone  structure,  whose  proportions  and  appointments  would  be  worthy 
of  the  tavern's  reputation,  and  she  began  construction  though  friends 
warned  her  of  the  gathering  war  clouds.  The  building,  which  was  never 
completed,  was  to  be  105  feet  in  length  and  about  60  feet  wide.  The 
massive  walls  of  dressed  stone  had  reached  a  height  of  15  feet  or  so 
before  the  work  was  stopped.  The  vine-covered  walls,  arched  windows, 
and  moss-grown  steps  attest  the  magnificence  of  Mrs.  Bell's  plans. 

Right  from  Glasgow  Junction  on  a  graveled  road  to  DIAMOND  CAVERNS  (adm. 
$1  to  $2  including  guide  service),  2  m.,  one  of  the  smaller  caves  of  the  area  but 
one  of  the  most  beautiful.  It  is  illuminated  with  floodlights  and  the  trip  through 
it  requires  from  one  to  two  hours. 

At  107.3  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  65. 

Right  on  this  road,  across  which  scamper  many  animals  from  the  near-by  Mam- 
moth Cave  National  Park  Game  Refuge,  is  BROWNSVILLE,  11  m.  (537  alt.,  359 
pop.),  seat  of  Edmonson  County,  on  the  left  bank  of  Green  River  in  an  area  of 
mediocre  farm  lands  where  nature  has  lived  untouched  and  its  wild-life  flourishes. 
Brownsville's  old  homes  stand  beneath  magnificent  trees,  and  in  almost  every  yard 
are  beds  of  hollyhocks,  larkspur,  and  asters.  The  town  still  lives  along  the  grooves 
of  the  1850's.  Everybody  hereabouts  is  a  good  story  teller.  Barn-raisings,  quilt- 
ing parties,  bran-hullings,  apple  peelings,  logrollings,  and  singing  parties  are  a  major 
part  of  its  social  life.  Square  dances  are  as  common  as  the  tales  of  "hants"  in 
Edmonson  County,  which  is  rich  in  folklore.  Brownsville  is  so  quiet  that  the  tinkle 
of  the  cow  bells  going  to  pasture  in  the  morning  and  coming  back  to  the  barn  in 
the  evening  is  as  significant  to  its  residents  as  reveille  and  taps  are  to  soldiers. 

In  Brownsville  is  the  CARMICHAEL  COLLECTION  or  PREHISTORIC  RELICS  (free;  by 
appointment).  Practically  all  of  the  specimens  were  found  within  the  county. 

At  Brownsville  is  the  junction  with  Indian  Hill  Road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  INDIAN  HILL  (628  alt.),  1  m.,  below  which  slide  the 
waters  of  Green  River,  Indian  Creek,  and  Nolin  River.  Indian  Hill  continues  to 
yield  flint  artifacts. 

At  111.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  101. 

Left  on  this  road  to  SMITH'S  GROVE,  4  m.  (607  alt.,  718  pop.),  where  a  Gov- 
ernment emergency  landing  field  is  maintained.  In  the  Smith's  Grove  Cemetery  is 
the  GRAVE  OF  SUSAN  MADISON,  sister  of  Patrick  Henry  and  wife  of  Thomas  Madi- 
son, a  brother  of  George  Madison  former  Governor  of  Kentucky. 

At  118.7  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  80  (see  Tour  18). 


306  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

BOWLING  GREEN,  125.4  m.  (469  alt.,  12,348  pop.),  seat  of  War- 
ren County,  rides  the  uplands  along  the  Barren  River.  The  city  rises, 
in  a  series  of  narrow  streets,  up  to  a  central  square  with  a  thinly 
planted  park  as  its  core;  it  rises  farther  to  the  top~of  a  hill  on  which, 
occupying  a  fort  site,  is  the  Western  State  Teachers'  College.  On  an- 
other hill  is  a  reservoir.  From  these  elevations  it  is  seen  that  the 
city  is  speckled  with  quite  large  and  ornate  houses  among  the  trees 
and  shrubs  that  tone  down  the  industrial  color  of  Bowling  Green. 

The  city  has  taken  full  advantage  of  surrounding  natural  resources. 
Asphalt  rock  from  along  Barren  River  is  brought  here  by  barge, 
crushed,  and  reshipped  to  various  points  for  road  building.  Near-by 
oil  pools,  in  the  decade  after  the  World  War,  gave  Bowling  Green  its 
one  boom  era;  although  these  pools  still  produce,  the  output  has 
dropped  off  appreciably.  Tobacco,  both  dark  and  burley,  is  a  cash 
crop  that  contributes  much  to  the  prosperity  of  the  city;  the  tobacco 
warehouses  are  the  most  interesting  places  in  town  during  the  auction 
sales  in  the  late  fall  and  early  winter.  Strawberries  are  prominent 
among  the  products  produced  for  the  market;  Bowling  Green  was 
formerly  the  foremost  strawberry  market  in  the  State,  and  still  attracts 
numbers  of  pickers  during  berry  season.  Men,  women,  and  children 
arrive  on  freight  trains,  in  mule-drawn  buggies,  in  model-T  Fords,  in 
jolt  wagons,  and  afoot,  to  tent  in  the  strawberry  fields  for  a  fort- 
night or  so,  and  then  move  northward  to  continue  the  work  in  other 
berry-growing  areas. 

In  1780  Robert  and  George  Moore,  with  some  associates  from  Vir- 
ginia, established  a  settlement  here  in  the  Barrens,  a  treeless  plain. 
The  town  site  was  chosen  because  of  its  proximity  to  an  excellent 
spring,  and  the  navigability  of  the  Barren  River  up  to  this  point. 

The  Moore  brothers  provided  land  for  the  first  log  courthouse. 
Until  its  erection  in  1797,  the  county  court  had  held  its  sessions  in  the 
home  of  Robert  Moore.  The  visiting  lawyers  and  court  officials  long 
used  the  yard  about  Moore's  house  as  a  green  for  playing  bowls,  as 
did  many  people  in  the  town.  From  this  custom  Bowling  Green  de- 
rived its  name.  The  growth  of  the  town  was  gradual  and  constant 
until  the  War  between  the  States.  Immediately  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  war,  the  town  became  a  center  of  attention  because  of  its  impor- 
tance as  a  railroad  center  and  river  shipping  point,  and  because  of  its 
position  on  the  chief  western  wagon  road  between  the  North  and  the 
South.  Further  hardship  was  faced  by  the  city  because  of  the  divided 
sympathy  of  its  people — a  large  part  of  whom  favored  the  Union. 

In  November  1861  Gen.  Simon  Bolivar  Buckner,  in  command  of  a 
body  of  Kentuckians  from  Camp  Boone  in  Tennessee,  occupied  the 
town.  He  was  followed  by  a  division  of  the  Confederate  Army  led  by 
Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  the  Confederate  commander  in  the  West, 
who  immediately  commenced  to  fortify  the  place  as  a  permanent  head- 
quarters from  which  to  operate  in  Kentucky.  These  plans  were  shat- 
tered by  the  reduction  of  forts  Henry  and  Donelson  in  1862.  The 


TOUR    7  307 

Confederates  evacuated  the  city  and  Federal  soldiers  moved  in  and 
completed  the  fortifications. 

The  WESTERN  KENTUCKY  STATE  TEACHERS'  COLLEGE,  5th  St.,  is  on 
the  eminence  occupied  by  the  fort.  Earthworks  and  some  of  the 
equipment  are  preserved  on  the  campus.  In  1813  the  General  Assem- 
bly established  Warren  Seminary  in  Bowling  Green.  Six  years  later 
legislative  approval  was  given  for  the  establishment  here  of  the  South- 
ern Normal  School,  a  private  institution.  A  few  years  later  Potter 
College  for  young  ladies  was  opened.  These  schools  were  highly  suc- 
cessful until  the  War  between  the  States;  afterwards  Warren  Seminary 
became  Warren  College,  and  was  later  renamed  Ogden  College.  In 
1928  Ogden  College  leased  its  property  to  the  Western  Kentucky 
State  Teachers'  College — which  had  developed  from  the  Southern  Nor- 
mal School — and  ceased  to  function. 

On  the  campus  of  the  college,  which  covers  60  acres,  are  cottage 
dormitories,  a  model  rural  school,  and  athletic  fields.  Honeysuckle 
Lane,  a  broad  flagstone  walk,  winds  through  what  was  the  fort.  All 
buildings  of  major  importance  are  on  College  Heights  from  which 
there  is  an  excellent  view  of  the  beautiful  Barren  River  Valley  with 
hills  behind  it  to  the  north  and  west.  The  Administration  Building 
is  constructed  of  red  face  brick  with  limestone  trim.  The  Cedar  House 
Club,  a  broad  one-story  structure  of  cedar  logs,  is  the  center  of  social 
life  on  the  campus. 

The  Kentucky  Building,  faced  with  brick  and  trimmed  with  lime- 
stone, is  of  Georgian  Colonial  design.  In  it  is  the  KENTUCKY  LIBRARY 
OF  FOLKLORE  (open)  and  a  museum  containing  Indian  and  early  Ken- 
tucky relics  and  collections  of  old  furniture,  papers,  documents,  and 
oddities  of  natural  science. 

An  Italian  Garden,  on  the  old  Ogden  Campus,  contains  a  group  of 
Florentine  statuary  and  a  heroic  statue  of  Apollo.  Near  by  is  the  Ex- 
perimental Farm  of  149  acres,  used  for  demonstration. 

BOWLING  GREEN  BUSINESS  UNIVERSITY,  College  St.,  a  privately 
owned  institution,  is  an  accredited  senior  college  that  offers  a  four-year 
course  in  business,  administration,  finance,  and  commerce.  Its  gray 
brick  building  contains  an  auditorium,  classrooms,  and  offices.  The 
library,  a  frame  structure  immediately  back  of  the  main  building,  con- 
tains about  16,000  volumes. 

Bowling  Green  is  the  home  of  Mrs.  Eliza  Calvert  Hall  Obenchain 
(1856-  ),  author  of  Aunt  Jane  oj  Kentucky,  and  Sally  Ann's  Ex- 
perience. 

Bowling  Green  is  at  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

Right  from  Bowling  Green  on  State  67  to  the  junction  with  a  dirt  road,  3  ra.; 
R.  on  this  road  to  the  C.  A.  SMITH  FARM,  4  m.,  where  large  beds  of  flint  frag- 
ments and  numerous  artifacts  have  been  found.  The  quantities  of  kitchen  midden 
near  by  on  the  same  farm  indicate  that  this  was  long  an  Indian  village  site. 

At  128.4  m.  is  (L)  LOST  RIVER  CAVE  (adm.  10^),  a  large  rock 
chamber  whose  ceiling  forms  a  natural  bridge  on  which  the  highway 


308  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

runs.  The  cave  was  so  named  because  of  the  short,  deep  stream  that 
starts  350  feet  above  the  mouth  of  the  chamber,  tumbles  in  a  water- 
fall at  its  entrance,  then  disappears  entirely.  A  gristmill  was  operated 
here  prior  to  the  organization  of  Warren  County^  in  1796.  On  the 
levels  now  used  as  dance  floors  Indian  skeletons  and  relics  have  been 
found,  indicating  that  this  place  was  once  an  Indian  burial  ground. 
Soldiers  camped  here  during  the  War  between  the  States,  and  John 
Morgan  hid  in  the  cave  while  Federals  were  looking  for  him  when 
he  burned  the  depot  at  Shakertown.  The  notorious  James  boys  are 
said  to  have  made  their  hideout  here  in  1868  after  they  had  robbed 
the  Russellville  bank.  The  cave  has  been  developed  as  a  night  club 
and  picnicking  spot,  with  tourist  cabins  available  near  the  entrance. 
Between  Lost  River  Cave  and  Franklin,  the  land  levels  out  into  broad 
fields  used  for  pasturage  and  the  production  of  corn,  tobacco,  straw- 
berries, and  livestock.  Ponds  are  by  the  roadside,  and  broom  sage 
waves  greenly  across  the  fields  until  frost  turns  it  russet.  All  through 
this  region,  fine  Georgian  Colonial  homes  with  gracious  porticos  alter- 
nate with  ordinary  frame  farmhouses  and  gray,  weathered  shacks;  jolt 
wagons  drawn  by  plodding  mules  share  the  road  with  automobiles. 

FRANKLIN,  145.8  m.  (717  alt.,  3,058  pop.),  tightly  hugs  a  central 
courthouse  square  rimmed  with  low  brick  buildings,  each  of  which  has 
a  hitching  post.  It  was  founded  in  1820,  named  for  Benjamin  Franklin, 
and  is  the  seat  of  Simpson  County,  which  was  named  in  honor  of  Capt. 
John  Simpson,  whose  company  of  riflemen  joined  the  first  Kentucky 
troops  that  marched  to  reinforce  General  Hull  at  Detroit  during  the 
War  of  1812.  Captain  Simpson  was  killed  in  the  Battle  of  the  River 
Raisin. 

The  ONE-SUCKER  TOBACCO  MARKET  here  is  unusually  large.  The 
growing  plant  is  trimmed  of  all  except  a  single  sucker  on  the  main 
stem,  thus  producing  a  superior  quality  of  tobacco.  A  municipally 
owned  MINERAL  WELL  in  the  public  square  has  water  of  a  high  sulphur 
content. 

The  people  in  this  remote  hilly  region  have  songs,  superstitions,  and 
customs  that  belong  to  eighteenth-century  England  (see  Tours  1,  18, 
and  19).  Children  are  admonished  never  to  pluck  mistletoe  from  an 
oak.  Though  it  is  believed  to  attach  itself  naturally  to  any  other  tree, 
it  is  supposed  to  be  held  in  place  on  an  oak  by  the  druids,  and  to  break 
their  hold  would  bring  calamity  upon  the  "hull  relation."  An  expres- 
sion often  heard  here,  "as  thick  as  fiddlers  in  hell,"  undoubtedly  sprang 
from  the  mouths  of  early  reformers. 

South  of  Franklin  is  rolling  farm  country,  where  the  highway  passes 
orchards  and  fields  of  corn.  Honeysuckle  and  brier  mesh  the  fences. 

A  favorite  legend  of  GEDDES,  149.3  m.  (688  alt.),  a  roadside  com- 
munity, is  a  variant  of  the  popular  Barbara  Frietchie  story.  It  is  said 
that  when  Gen.  John  Hunt  Morgan  crossed  the  Tennessee  Line  near  by, 
a  few  days  before  Christmas  in  1862,  his  command  encountered  a  Union 
flag  flying  over  the  farmhouse  of  an  aged  widow.  A  member  of  the 


TOUR    7  309 

advance  guard  started  to  climb  to  the  roof  to  haul  down  the  colors,  to 
the  ire  of  the  old  lady  who  soundly  berated  him,  telling  him  that  she 
loved  the  flag  and  would  rather  die  than  see  it  in  the  hands  of  "rebels." 
Morgan  had  ridden  up  during  the  altercation,  ordered  the  man  to  come 
down,  and  told  the  woman  to  take  the  flag  down;  he  allowed  her  to 
keep  it.  This  courtesy  from  the  much  dreaded  "raider"  so  impressed 
the  Union  sympathizer  that  she  offered  to  serve  all  the  food  she  could 
"rake  and  scrape"  and  all  the  "parched  corn  coffee  they  could  hold." 
But  Morgan  declined,  saying  that  his  men  would  feast  at  Christmas  on 
the  pigs  and  turkeys  held  by  the  Union  commissaries,  which  they  were 
going  to  capture. 

At  150.9  m.  US  31W  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  37  miles  north  of 
Nashville. 


Tour  7 A 


Cave  City — Mammoth  Cave  National  Park — Mammoth  Cave;  9.6  m., 
State  70. 

Accommodations  at  Mammoth  Cave  National  Park:  Open  day  and  night  through- 
out year ;  guides  compulsory ;  adm.  (includes  any  chosen  route  through  the  old 
cave)  adults,  $2;  for  each  route  thereafter,  $1;  children,  8-12  yrs.,  $1;  children 
under  8  yrs.,  no  charge.  De  Luxe  Route,  adults,  $4,  children  8-12  yrs.,  $2;  Star 
Chamber  and  Mummy  Combination  Route,  $3;  children  $1.50;  lunch  in  Snowball 
Dining  Room,  60^.  Two  modern  hotels,  rates  from  $1 ;  horseback  riding,  boat- 
ing, hiking,  tennis,  croquet,  and  dancing. 

State  70  branches  west  from  US  31W  (see  Tour  7)  at  CAVE  CITY, 
0  m.  (613  alt.,  773  pop.)  (see  Tour  7). 

MAMMOTH  CAVE  NATIONAL  PARK  ENTRANCE,  9.6  m., 
introduces  the  visitor  to  a  49,000-acre  area  of  forested  rolling  hills, 
deep  valleys,  and  streams,  with  Mammoth  Cave  as  the  chief  attraction. 
The  profusion  of  local  flora  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  here  are 
more  than  180  varieties  of  plant  life,  of  which  109  are  shrubs  and  trees. 
A  project  now  under  way  (1939)  will  make  this  park  part  of  a  scenic 
loop  route  embracing  the  Great  Smoky  Mountain  National  Park  of 
North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  and  the  Shenandoah  National  Park  of 
Virginia. 

Mammoth  Cave  is  a  product  of  geologic  action  and  of  erosion,  a 
process  that  began  many  million  years  ago.  In  the  ancient  period  a 
shallow  sea  covered  the  region  that  is  now  central  Kentucky.  Within 
these  waters  coral  shellfish  and  other  forms  of  marine  life  grew  in  pro- 
fusion. The  sea  floor  gradually  sank,  and  as  it  sank  reefs,  built  up 
in  the  same  manner  as  those  off  the  coast  of  Florida,  grew  to  a  thick- 
ness at  this  point  of  more  than  325  feet.  Then  the  subsidence  stopped. 


310  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Sand  was  deposited  over  the  marine  sediments.  Finally  the  waters 
receded  and  Green  River  began  cutting  its  present  valley,  a  process  that 
took  millions  of  years.  Underground  water,  coming  in  contact  with 
the  limestone  strata,  acted  physically,  as  an  erosive  agent,  and  chem- 
ically, as  a  solvent,  and  over  periods  of  time  inconceivable  to  the  mind 
of  man,  carved  out  the  giant  tunnel. 

The  rock  mass,  within  which  the  cave  has  been  carved,  is  now  above 
the  stream  level  of  Green  River,  into  which  the  subterranean  waters 
of  the  cave  flow.  The  cave  itself,  with  its  five  levels,  covers  an  area 
approximately  10  miles  in  circumference.  Its  explored  passageways, 
325  of  which  have  been  mapped,  extend  to  an  estimated  length  of  150 
miles.  These  passageways  lead  visitors  to  three  rivers,  a  lake,  and 
numerous  rooms  and  domes. 

The  principal  attractions  are  reached  over  six  routes,  some  of  them 
electrically  lighted  and  all  free  of  danger.  A  natural  phenomenon  is 
the  "in-breathing"  or  movement  of  air  from  the  outside  when  the  sur- 
face temperature  is  below  the  cave's  constant  temperature  of  54°  F., 
and  the  "out-breathing"  when  the  surface  temperature  is  above  that  of 
the  cave. 

The  cave  has  six  entrances,  two  natural,  the  other  four  man-made. 
The  natural  entrance,  called  the  Historic  Entrance,  is  194  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  valley  and  118  feet  below  the  crest  of  the  overhanging 
bluff.  The  other  principal  entrance  has  a  man-made  stairway  descend- 
ing to  the  level  of  Frozen  Niagara. 

Mammoth  Cave  was  first  discovered  by  white  men  about  1800; 
claims  have  been  made  for  1794,  1802,  and  1809.  Since  1811,  when 
the  nitrate  deposits  in  the  cave  were  first  mined,  explorations,  some 
planned  and  some  accidental,  have  broadened  knowledge  of  the  cave 
to  its  present  but  still  incomplete  extent.  During  the  second  war  with 
Great  Britain,  two  men,  one  named  Wilkins  and  another  Benjamin 
Gratz,  were  owners  of  the  property.  The  latter  was  prominent  in  early 
Kentucky  history  (see  Lexington).  They  sent  Archibald  Miller  from 
Philadelphia  to  take  charge  of  the  saltpeter  works.  After  the  conclusion 
of  the  war  the  property  was  sold  to  James  Moore  of  Philadelphia. 
Later  a  man  named  Gatewood,  who  had  previously  owned  the  prop- 
erty, came  into  possession  of  it  again  and  he  opened  it  to  the  general 
public  as  a  commercial  attraction.  In  1837  Frank  Gorin  purchased  the 
land  surrounding  the  single  natural  entrance  and  began  development 
of  the  cave  as  a  tourist  attraction.  Stephen  Bishop,  the  first  guide, 
and  Matt  Bransford,  who,  upon  Bishop's  death  in  1859,  succeeded 
him  as  chief  guide,  spent  their  lives  exploring  the  passages  and  caverns. 
Both  were  slaves  and  men  of  unusual  daring.  Their  knowledge  of  the 
cave  has  been  transmitted  in  direct  line  to  the  guides  who  now  con- 
duct visitors  through  the  underground  wonders. 

The  fame  of  Mammoth  Cave  early  spread  to  Europe  where  a  young 
physician  of  Louisville,  Dr.  John  Croghan,  was  traveling.  In  1839, 
when  he  returned  to  America,  he  purchased  the  property  and  10  years 


TOUR    7A  311 

later  it  passed  to  his  heirs,  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Col.  George 
Croghan  and  Gen.  T.  S.  Jesup. 


ROUTE  1 

The  Historic  Entrance  is  the  natural  opening  through  which  the  cave  was  first 
found.  It  is  reached  by  a  path  that  leads  from  the  summit  of  the  bluff.  Stone 
steps  lead  to  the  vestibule. 

The  SALTPETER  VATS  are  relics  of  the  operations  carried  on  during  the  War  of 
1812,  when  saltpeter  was  in  great  demand  for  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder.  The 
cave  is  rich  in  this  mineral.  The  material  was  placed  in  these  vats,  hopper-like 
structures  similar  to  the  vats  used  in  early  days  for  the  leaching  of  ashes  to  make 
the  potash  used  in  soap  making.  Water  was  poured  over  the  material  and  the 
solution  containing  saltpeter  in  suspension  was  filtered  into  containers.  It  was 
boiled  and  again  leached,  this  time  through  wood  ashes.  The  saltpeter  in  crystalline 
form  was  shipped,  by  boat  and  wagon,  overland  to  powder  factories. 

The  CORKSCREW  EXIT  is  a  short  and  narrow  but  rough  and  winding  passage  to 
the  surface  discovered  in  1870  by  William  Garvin,  the  guide.  It  makes  unnecessary 
the  physical  difficulties  of  a  return  journey  through  the  18-inch  passageway  known 
as  FAT  MAN'S  MISERY.  Garvin  noticed  the  bats  inhabiting  the  cave  disappear, 
and  by  following  them  he  reached  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

GORIN'S  DOME  is  over  the  spot  where  an  exciting  adventure  of  F.  J.  Stephenson, 
an  English  visitor,  ended  in  1863.  Accompanied  by  Nick  Bransford,  he  descended 
to  the  water  level  where  today,  filled  with  sand,  lies  the  flatboat  they  used  on  their 
journey.  They  descended  the  sluggish  stream  to  a  point  where  Stephenson  left  the 
guide  and  boat  and  went  on  alone.  Records  say  that  when  he  was  attempting  to 
catch  some  "eyeless  fish,"  his  lamp  went  out,  his  matches  became  wet,  and  he  was 
left  in  utter  darkness.  Despite  that  fact,  he  returned  safely  three  hours  later.  The 
next  day,  his  appetite  for  exploration  still  strong,  Stephenson  again  descended  the 
stream  with  Nick.  Again  Stephenson  left  the  guide  and  went  exploring  alone,  and 
again  he  returned  safely. 

The  BOTTOMLESS  PIT,  discovered  a  century  or  more  ago,  was  long  believed  to 
deserve  its  name.  Actually  it  is  about  200  feet  deep.  Above  it,  rising  140  feet,  is 
SHELBY'S  DOME,  named  for  the  first  Governor  of  Kentucky. 

The  BRIDGE  OF  SIGHS  is  a  stone  arch  so  named  because  of  a  fancied  resemblance 
to  the  Bridge  of  Sighs  in  Venice,  Italy. 

FAT  MAN'S  MISERY  is  a  200-foot  passage  that  narrows  in  places  to  18  inches.  It 
is  the  only  way  by  which  the  visitor  can  go  farther  into  the  cave. 

RIVER  HALL,  believed  to  extend  for  miles  underground,  is  the  place  where  the 
waters  from  various  caverns  and  galleries  gather.  The  DEAD  SEA  is  a  still  pool 
beneath  a  60-foot  cliff. 

The  RIVER  STYX  was  named  for  the  mythical  Greek  river  across  whose  dark 
waters  Charon  transported  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

ECHO  RIVER,  first  crossed  in  1837  by  the  guide  and  cave  explorer,  Stephen 
Bishop,  flows  at  the  lowest  cave  level,  360  feet  below  the  earth's  surface,  on  its 
way  to  near-by  Green  River.  Here  are  facilities  for  a  subterranean  water  journey 
on  a  stream  like  Coleridge's,  which  flowed  "through  caverns  measureless  to  man, 
down  to  a  sunless  sea."  Along  this  underground  stream  sounds  are  echoed  with  an 
unusual  lengthening  and  blending.  Echo  River  contains  a  translucent  blind  fish — 
best  known  of  the  Amblyopsidae  family — interesting  illustrations  of  evolution  under 
unusual  conditions  of  life.  This  underground  fish,  mistakenly  spoken  of  as  "eye- 
less," has  vestigial  eyes,  but  is  totally  blind. 

Nathaniel  P.  Willis  (1806-67),  the  journalist,  described  one  of  these  fish:  "In 
size,  he  was  like  the  larger  size  of  what  boys  call  a  'minim' — say  an  inch  and  a 
half  long — but  very  different  in  construction  and  color.  His  body  was  quite  white, 
translucent,  and  wholly  without  intestinal  canal.  His  stomach  (what  there  was  of 
it)  was  directly  behind  the  brain  (if  brain  there  was)  and  all  the  organs  of  the 


312  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

system  were  forward  of  the  gills,  the  head  alone  having  blood  or  other  discolora- 
tion. Under  the  chin  he  disposed  of  what  was  superfluous  in  his  nourishment.  He 
was  curiously  corespondent  indeed  to  the  poetized  character  of  the  place — like  was 
a  fish  in  process  of  becoming  a  fish  in  spiritland.  Nothing  could  be  more  purely 
beautiful  and  graceful  than  the  pearly  and  spotless  body  which  had  'heavenlified' 
first,  leaving  the  head  to  follow."  These  fish  apparently  derive  all  nourishment 
from  the  chemical  content  of  water.  In  the  course  of  an  experiment  a  captive 
blind  fish  lived  a  year  in  a  bowl  of  water  without  food.  When  a  few  crumbs  were 
introduced  the  fish  died  within  24  hours. 


ROUTE  2 

The  FROZEN  NIAGARA  ENTRANCE  is  a  man-made  opening  cut  in  1924,  at  a  point 
about  3.5  miles  southeast  of  the  main  entrance. 

RAINBOW  DOME  has  a  wide  range  of  color  in  its  walls  and  ceilings.  To  the  left 
is  the  huge  stalactite  called  Onyx  Pyramid. 

CRYSTAL  LAKE  (boats),  a  body  of  clear  water,  is  2  to  38  feet  deep.  The  boat 
landing  is  called  Plymouth  Rock.  A  stairway  leads  to  a  higher  level  affording  a 
view  of  the  lake. 

The  RADIO  ROOM  has  had  a  radio  since  1925.  No  aerial  is  used  and  the  recep- 
tion is  unusually  good. 

FROZEN  NIAGARA,  75  feet  high,  is  a  deposit  of  onyx  bearing  a  striking  resemblance 
to  a  waterfall.  Indirect  lighting  creates  a  spectacular  effect.  Fancy  has  vested  its 
immediate  surroundings  with  names.  One  formation  is  thought  to  resemble  a  to- 
bacco leaf,  others  are  the  Golden  Fleece,  the  Arizona  Giant  Cactus,  the  Chinese 
Idol,  and  the  Chinese  Family. 

From  the  ceiling  of  THANKSGIVING  HALL  hang  stalactites  that  are  supposed  to 
resemble  turkeys  and  other  viands  that  grace  the  Thanksgiving  board. 


ROUTE  3 

The  ROTUNDA,  a  vast  hall  about  1  mile  from  the  Historic  Entrance,  is  beyond 
the  iron  gates  that  exclude  unguided  visitors.  Flares  are  employed  to  demonstrate 
the  extent  of  this  underground  chamber. 

AUDUBON  AVENUE  recalls  the  memory  of  John  James  Audubon,  noted  Kentucky 
ornithologist  to  whose  life  clings  the  legend  that  he  was  in  reality  the  son  of  Louis 
XVI,  the  Lost  Dauphin  of  France,  who  disappeared  during  the  Reign  of  Terror. 

The  METHODIST  CHURCH,  with  its  resemblance  to  a  chancel,  at  one  end  of  which 
is  a  formation  resembling  a  rostrum  and  pulpit,  was  occasionally  used  in  early  days 
by  itinerant  ministers — or  so  the  legend  runs. 

BOOTH'S  THEATER  is  a  natural  auditorium  from  the  stage  of  which  it  is  recorded 
that  Edwin  Booth  once  recited  his  favorite  "To  be,  or  not  to  be,"  from  Hamlet. 

Someone  believed  that  the  PILLARS  OF  HERCULES  resembled  the  rocky  headlands 
that  face  each  other  across  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar. 

The  BRIDAL  ALTAR,  bearing  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  small  temple,  was  formed 
by  the  union  of  four  pairs  of  stalactites  and  stalagmites.  Numerous  marriage  cere- 
monies have  been  performed  here. 

ELBOW  CREVICE  is  a  water-fluted  dome  from  which  the  musical  murmuring  of 
unseen  waters  is  heard. 

The  GIANT'S  COFFIN  is  a  block  of  stone,  40  feet  long,  beside  the  trail. 

The  CONSUMPTIVES'  CABINS  recall  a  tragic  delusion  of  medical  science  during  the 
1840's.  Some  doctors  believed  that  conditions  within  the  cave  were  favorable  to 
recovery  from  "consumption,"  as  pulmonary  tuberculosis  was  then  called.  In  this 
belief,  these  stone  cabins  were  built,  and  for  a  considerable  time  a  group  of  tuber- 
cular people  lived  here  in  a  vain  quest  for  health. 

The  STAR  CHAMBER  is  a  vast  room  in  the  ceiling  of  which  are  crystals  of  black 
oxide  of  manganese  that  under  artificial  light  look  like  stars.  For  the  diversion  of 


TOUR    7A  313 

visitors,  the  guides  extinguish  all  lights.    The  intense  darkness  is  broken  as  the  stars 
appear  one  by  one.    As  an  added  touch,  the  twittering  of  birds  is  reproduced. 

The  MARTHA  WASHINGTON  STATUE,  apparently  a  female  figure  in  silhouette,  is 
created  in  part  by  the  use  of  lights. 


ROUTE  4 

This  tour  begins  at  FROZEN  NIAGARA  (see  Route  2). 

The  large  ROOSEVELT  DOME,  named  in  honor  of  former  President  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  is  130  feet  from  apex  to  base. 

GRAND  CENTRAL  STATION  is  so  called  because  of  the  many  routes  that  intersect 
here. 

The  NEW  YORK  HIPPODROME,  a  room  200  feet  long,  100  feet  wide,  and  68  feet 
high,  is  said  to  be  directly  below  Frozen  Niagara  Hotel. 

FAIRY  CEILING,  100  feet  long,  is  notable  because  of  its  smooth  surface. 

COLLEGE  HEIGHTS  AVENUE  is  named  in  honor  of  Western  State  Teachers'  College 
in  Bowling  Green,  Ky. 

Thanksgiving  Hall,  September  Morn,  Crystal  Lake,  Onyx  Colonnade,  and  Rain- 
bow Dome  (see  Route  2)  are  also  included  in  this  tour. 


ROUTE  5 

This  route  combines  Routes  1  and  2,  the  chief  points  of  Route  3,  as  well  as  the 
following: 

OLE  BULL'S  CONCERT  HALL  named  for  the  Norwegian-born  violinist  who  played 
in  it. 

The  PASS  OF  EL  GHOR  marks  the  point  from  which  three  early-day  cave  ex- 
plorers, Charles  and  Abraham  Merideth  and  F.  M.  De  Monbrum,  made  their  way 
into  a  vast  cavern  that  no  one  has  since  been  able  to  re-discover. 

MARY'S  VINEYARD  has  a  stalactite  that  winds  from  ceiling  to  floor  and  resembles 
a  grapevine.  Nodules  of  limestone  coated  with  black  oxide  of  iron  heighten  the 
resemblance  to  a  vine  loaded  with  grapes. 

The  SNOWBALL  DINING  ROOM,  267  feet  below  the  surface,  is  a  lunch  room  for 
cave  visitors.  Its  ceiling  is  festooned  with  "snowballs"  of  gypsum. 

BOONE  AVENUE  is  a  rough  pass,  noted  for  the  coloring  of  its  walls. 

The  MAMMOTH  GYPSUM  WALL,  bordering  Kentucky  Ave.,  contains  formations 
resembling  celery  stalks  and  flowers. 

The  GRAND  CANYON,  a  large  water-eroded  channel,  was  so  named  because  of  a 
fancied  resemblance — in  miniature — to  the  great  gorge  of  the  Colorado  River. 

The  remainder  of  the  route  is  Route  2. 


ROUTE  6 

This  route  is  Route  2,  with  the  addition  of  the  following: 

PROCTOR'S  ARCADE  is  an  enlargement  of  the  main  cave  that,  in  early  days,  was 
coupled  with  the  avenue  known  as  Kynney's  Arena.  It  has  passages  with  high 
ceilings  and  well-proportioned  arches. 

The  INDIAN  RELICS — torches  made  out  of  bundles  of  reeds,  wooden  bowls,  woven 
sandals,  and  the  ashes  of  fires — were  found  in  a  room  of  the  cave  and  attest  to 
the  presence  of  the  natives  long  before  the  white  man  discovered  these  wonders. 
Archeologists  agree  that  these  relics  are  those  of  a  race  that  preceded  the  Indians 
living  in  Kentucky  when  the  earliest  whites  appeared. 

WRIGHT'S  ROTUNDA  was  the  name  first  given  to  Chief  City.  It  is  now  applied 
to  this  T-shaped  hall,  and  honors  Dr.  C.  A.  Wright,  a  Louisianian  who  published 
one  of  the  earliest  histories  of  the  cave. 


314  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

CHIEF  CITY,  a  single  room  two  acres  in  extent,  is  awe-inspiring.  Its  ceiling,  un- 
supported by  pillars,  is  smooth.  In  this  room  were  found  a  large  number  of  relics 
of  prehistoric  man.  Archeologists  believe  that  both  the  Indian  of  historic  times 
and  his  predecessor  used  this  room  for  special  purposes,  as  a  tribal  gathering  place, 
or  as  a  place  for  religious  ceremonies. 

The  CATARACTS  is  a  cascade  where  waters  seeping  through  the  porous  rocks 
gather  into  a  stream  that  plunges  downward  over  a  cliff.  Following  heavy  rains, 
or  the  melting  of  deep  snows,  the  cascade  becomes  a  noisy  torrent. 

WALDACH'S  DOME  commemorates  Charles  Waldach  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  an  early 
photographer  whose  pictures  gave  the  cave  wide  publicity. 

The  BODY  OF  PREHISTORIC  MINER,  near  Waldach's  Dome,  is  preserved  in  a  glass 
case  where  it  was  found  in  1935.  The  so-called  miner  had  been  caught  beneath 
a  slab  of  stone. 

On  MUMMY  LEDGE  was  found  the  mummified  body  of  a  woman  about  five  feet 
ten  inches  tall,  who  was  killed  by  a  stab  beneath  the  heart.  The  body  was  dis- 
covered by  the  miners  of  1812.  According  to  legend,  her  skin  was  dark  and  her 
close-cropped  hair  had  a  reddish  tint;  she  was  dressed  in  clothing  woven  from 
linden  (basswood)  fibers  and  a  robe  of  deerskin  bearing  traces  of  formal  designs. 
Feather  headdresses,  one  for  each  day  in  the  week,  were  found  beside  her  body, 
and  a  tiny  musical  instrument  resembling  a  flute  lay  in  her  hand.  Small  beads  and 
a  necklace  made  of  fawn's  hooves,  together  with  the  claws  of  an  eagle,  adorned 
her.  The  exceptional  care  with  which  the  body  had  been  prepared  for  burial  indi- 
cates that  the  woman  had  been  a  person  of  importance.  This  find,  which  has  dis- 
appeared, passed  into  the  possession  of  a  Bostonian,  who,  according  to  the  tale, 
gave  it  to  a  museum.  No  museum  has  reported  such  a  possession. 

HAINES'  DOME  was  named  in  honor  of  Ben  Haines,  an  early  photographer  of 
New  Albany,  Indiana,  who  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  effort  to  exploration  of 
the  cave  and  to  photographing  its  features. 

In  the  SNOW  ROOM  deposits  of  Epsom  salts  hang  like  hoarfrost  from  the  walls 
and  ceiling.  The  slightest  vibration  of  the  air  will  cause  a  shower  of  this  snow- 
like  substance  to  fall.  Early  settlers  collected  the  salts  for  medicinal  purposes. 

ULTIMA  THULE  was  named  before  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century,  when 
it  was  supposed  to  be  the  end  of  the  cave. 

VIOLET  CITY  was  discovered  in  1918  by  Max  Kaemper,  a  German  scientist,  who 
with  Edwin  Bishop,  a  guide,  found  the  "crawl-way"  connecting  Ultima  Thule  with 
Kaemper's  Hall  and  all  that  part  of  the  cave  now  called  Violet  City.  Kaemper's 
Hall  is  160  feet  long,  120  feet  wide  and  60  feet  high.  ELIZABETH'S  DOME  was 
named,  according  to  local  legend,  for  Kaemper's  sweetheart.  GRAND  PORTAL,  60 
feet  wide  and  50  feet  high,  is  reached  by  an  imposing  stairway.  The  MARBLE 
TEMPLE,  its  wall  studded  with  many-colored  onyx,  glows  under  electric  lights.  The 
CHIMES  are  slender  reeds  made  in  the  meeting  of  hollow  stalactites  and  stalagmites, 
and  resemble  organ  pipes.  When  struck,  they  emit  musical  tones. 

The  man-made  exit  at  this  point  is  3.5  miles  southeast  of  the  Historic  Entrance. 

At  Mammoth  Cave  archway  is  the  junction  with  a  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  GREAT  ONYX  CAVE  (adm.  $2,  combination  route  $3,  guides; 
hotel,  rates  Jrom  $1);  3  m.,  one  of  the  principal  caves  in  this  region.  Great  Onyx 
Cave  contains  miles  of  avenues  leading  into  corridors  and  spacious  chambers  with 
great  fluted  columns  of  onyx,  draperies  of  translucent  alabaster,  and  a  gleaming 
garden  of  lilies,  daisies  and  chrysanthemums  reproduced  from  snow  white  gypsum. 

Near  the  entrance  to  the  cave  a  winding  pathway  bordered  with  ferns  and 
flowers  leads  among  stately  trees  to  the  shores  of  Green  River,  an  ideal  place  for 
swimming,  boating,  and  fishing. 

At  4.3  m.  is  FLOYD  COLLINS  CRYSTAL  CAVE  (adm.  $2),  within  the  Mammoth  Cave 
National  Park.  This  cave,  one  of  the  largest  in  the  area  and  only  partly  explored, 
was  discovered  in  December  1917  by  Floyd  Collins  while  making  a  round  of  the 
traps  on  his  father's  farm;  it  has  two  well-defined  routes.  In  them  is  a  dazzling 
display  of  delicate  formations  of  gypsum,  crystal,  and  onyx,  resembling  lilies, 


TOUR    7A  315 

chrysanthemums,  peonies,  and  asters— white,  gold,  pale  yellow,  and  pink.  Many  of 
the  rare  bush-like  helectite  formations,  as  yet  of  undetermined  origin,  ornament 
small  alcoves  on  each  side  of  a  passage  more  than  a  mile  long.  GRAND  CANYON 
AVENUE,  an  imposing  chamber  200  feet  high,  110  feet  wide,  and  700  feet  long,  con- 
tains the  tomb  of  Floyd  Collins,  who  lost  his  life  in  1925  in  an  effort  to  discover 
a  new  entrance  to  Crystal  Cave  from  the  highway  at  Sand  Cave.  During  the 
period  when  searchers  were  frantically  trying  to  find  the  lost  man,  the  whole  Na- 
tion waited  for  daily  reports. 


Tour  8 


( E vansville ,   Ind . )  — Henderson — Madisonville — Hopkinsville — Guthrie 
—(Nashville,  Tenn.);  US  41  and  41E,  Dixie  B-Line. 
Indiana  Line  to  Tennessee  Line,  114.5  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  roughly  parallels  US  41  throughout. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  larger  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

This  route  follows  an  old  Indian  trail  that  ran  between  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  was  first  made  by  the  great  herds 
of  buffalo  in  their  seasonal  migrations  from  South  to  North  and  back 
again.  Their  trails,  always  following  the  least  difficult  routes,  have 
become  main  roads  throughout  the  State.  Meriwether  Lewis,  while 
Governor  of  Upper  Louisiana  Territory,  once  had  occasion  to  traverse 
this  trace  and  recorded  that  he  and  his  companions  were  so  engrossed 
with  its  rugged  beauty  as  to  relax  from  their  eternal  lookout  for  lurking 
Shawnee  and  Wyandotte. 

Between  Henderson  and  Nashville  this  route  was  long  a  post  road, 
called  the  Buttermilk  Road,  because  farmers  along  the  route  set  aside 
crocks  of  buttermilk  and  dippers,  from  which  travelers  might  freely 
drink. 

In  Kentucky,  US  41  passes  throughout  the  entire  Pennyrile,  a  region 
whose  name  was  derived  from  pennyroyal,  a  herb  of  the  mint  family. 
The  Pennyrile  has  rather  vague  boundaries  but  extends  from  the  low 
wooded  hills  of  the  Ohio  River  on  the  north  to  the  rich  coal  fields  of 
southwestern  Kentucky,  a  pastoral  land  cut  through  by  deep  winding 
streams. 

US  41  crosses  the  Indiana  Line,  0  m.,  2  miles  south  of  Evansville, 
Ind.  (see  Ind.  Tour  16). 

BADE  PARK  (L),  1  m.,  was  built  by  James  Ellis  in  1922,  on  the 
part  of  Henderson  County  that  was  cut  off  on  the  north  when  the  Ohio 
River  changed  its  course.  Races  are  held  here  for  a  period  of  28  days, 
usually  in  August. 

The  highway  crosses  the  Ohio  River  on  the  Henderson-Evansville 
(Audubon  Highway)  Bridge,  2  m.  (toll  30<j>). 


316  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

AUDUBON  MEMORIAL  STATE  PARK  (L),  4.1  m.,  is  a  400-acre 
tract  donated  by  citizens  of  Henderson  County  in  memory  of  John 
James  Audubon  (1785-1851),  the  ornithologist,  who  roamed  through 
Kentucky  from  1808  to  1826.  It  includes  one  of  his  favorite  haunts, 
Wolf  Hill,  where  he  hunted,  studied  the  birds,  and  sometimes  cut  his 
name  on  trees.  Here,  too,  though  the  exact  spot  is  unknown,  is  the 
GRAVE  OF  LUCY  AUDUBON,  his  little  daughter.  Shelters,  roads,  sanitary 
facilities,  and  offices  have  been  built;  trails  have  been  developed,  some 
of  them  following  old  trails  probably  used  by  Audubon. 

A  reproduction  of  a  FRENCH  NORMAN  INN,  with  a  cobbled  courtyard 
for  tables,  serves  as  a  gatehouse  just  off  the  100-foot  road  that  traverses 
the  park.  It  contains,  in  addition  to  a  lunchroom,  a  banquet  hall, 
dormitories  for  hikers,  and  quarters  for  the  caretaker.  In  the  FRENCH 
GARDEN  is  a  small  stone  pavilion;  also  two  bird  baths  formed  from  the 
old  millstones  found  on  the  site  of  Audubon's  "infernal  mill"  on  the 
Ohio  at  Henderson.  These  millstones,  called  French  burr,  were  brought 
from  France. 

The  AUDUBON  MUSEUM  houses  a  collection  of  Audubon  prints.  On 
the  second  floor  is  a  collection  of  stuffed  birds,  books,  and  portraits. 
Also  on  the  first  floor  is  a  Kentucky  Room  holding  relics  of  Daniel 
Boone  and  other  pioneers,  and  a  Transylvania  Room.  The  French 
Norman  style  of  architecture  was  chosen  for  this  building  because  of 
Audubon's  French  ancestry,  and  because  it  permitted  the  round  tower 
that  contains  holes  in  the  masonry  for  nesting  birds. 

At  5.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  which  is  united 
with  US  41  between  this  point  and  HENDERSON,  6.6  m.  (382  alt., 
11,686  pop.)  (see  Tour  16). 

Between  Henderson  and  Dixon  the  road  passes  through  rolling  lands 
covered  with  orchards  and  tobacco  fields. 

The  highway  passes  HARPE'S  HEAD  ROAD  (R),  29.6  m.,  so 
named  because  Big  Harpe,  a  notorious  outlaw  of  early  days,  was  slain 
here  July  22,  1806,  and  his  head  placed  on  a  pole  near  an  oak  tree  by 
the  roadside.  The  initials,  H.  H.  ( Harpe 's  Head)  cut  into  the  bark  of 
the  tree,  were  legible  for  more  than  60  years. 

The  Harpes— Micajah  (Big  Harpe)  and  Wiley  (Little  Harpe)— 
traveled  with  three  women,  two  of  whom  were  described  as  the  wives 
of  Big  Harpe.  The  gang  is  believed  to  have  come  into  Kentucky  from 
North  Carolina  in  1802.  Their  appearance  was  first  noted  near  Stan- 
ford in  Lincoln  County.  A  few  days  later  came  the  first  of  the  crimes 
with  which  they  blazed  their  way  to  the  Green  River  country.  In  the 
Rockcastle  hills  along  the  Wilderness  Road  a  young  Virginian  named 
Langford  disappeared.  A  posse  caught  the  Harpes  near  by  and  carried 
them  into  Stanford;  in  their  possession  were  the  Virginian's  fine  shirts, 
one  of  them  bullet-pierced  and  stained  with  blood.  After  the  bandits 
had  been  transferred  to  Danville  for  trial,  they  broke  jail  and  escaped. 
Rumors  of  atrocities  flew  thick  and  fast  through  the  settlements,  and 
when  the  small  son  of  Captain  Trabue  disappeared  in  Adair  County 


TOUR    8  317 

the  parents  and  neighbors  blamed  the  gang;  many  years  later  the  bones 
of  a  small  child  were  found  in  a  sinkhole  near  which  the  child  was  last 
seen.  Terror  mounted,  however,  and  all  the  murders  and  robberies  that 
were  common  at  the  time  on  the  frontier,  were  laid  to  the  Harpes. 

One  night  the  Harpes  arrived  at  the  home  of  a  man  named  Stigall; 
they  said  they  were  Methodist  preachers  and  asked  for  a  night's 
shelter.  Another  traveler  was  already  there  but  Mrs.  Stigall  felt  no 
fear  in  her  husband's  absence  and,  with  the  usual  frontier  hospitality, 
took  them  in.  The  next  morning  Stigall  returned  to  find  his  home  in 
ashes;  in  the  ruins  were  the  bodies  of  his  wife  and  children  and  that 
of  a  stranger,  all  showing  evidence  of  murder.  Stigall  ran  to  the  home 
of  his  neighbor,  Capt.  John  Leeper,  who  immediately  called  out  other 
men  to  help  find  the  Harpes,  who  were  suspected  of  being  in  the 
vicinity.  It  was  agreed  that  Leeper  should  have  the  honor  of  killing 
Big  Harpe  and  Stigall  should  shoot  Little  Harpe.  The  party  soon 
found  the  women  who  traveled  with  the  Harpes;  the  men  had  left 
them  behind  when  they  fled.  The  Kentuckians  continued  the  chase  and 
at  length  caught  up  with  the  bandits  at  this  place.  Leeper  fired  at 
his  chosen  target,  who  was  on  horseback.  Both  man  and  horse  went 
down,  the  horse  on  top.  Harpe  screamed  for  release  and  mercy,  but 
Leeper  waited  until  Stigall  arrived,  then  shot  Big  Harpe,  cut  off  his 
head,  and  placed  the  trophy  on  a  tree  as  a  warning  to  other  outlaws. 

Little  Harpe  escaped  and  when  next  heard  of  had  joined  two  land- 
pirates,  Mason  and  Mays,  who  were  terrorizing  travelers  on  the  Natchez 
Trace.  A  price  had  been  set  on  Mason's  head;  one  day  when  Mason 
was  dividing  a  particularly  large  amount  of  loot,  Little  Harpe  and  Mays 
shot  him,  cut  off  his  head,  carried  it  into  Natchez,  and  attempted  to 
claim  the  reward.  They  were  recognized  and  arrested  but  managed  to 
escape.  They  were  again  captured  at  old  Greenville  and  hanged ;  their 
heads  were  placed  on  poles  along  the  trace,  one  at  each  end  of  town. 

There  is  the  usual  legend  in  the  neighborhood  of  Harpe's  Head  Road 
that  large  sums  of  "treasure"  were  buried  here  by  bandits;  none  has 
ever  been  found. 

DIXON,  31.8  m.  (544  alt.,  650  pop.),  seat  of  Webster  County,  is  a 
quiet  town  named  for  Archibald  Dixon,  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Ken- 
tucky 1844-48,  and  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  1852-55,  when 
he  filled  the  unexpired  term  of  Henry  Clay  after  Clay's  death. 

Many  large  Revolutionary  War  bonus-grants  lay  in  this  vicinity. 
Robert  Morris,  the  financier  of  the  Revolution  who  speculated  so  dis- 
astrously in  soldiers'  grants,  held  a  tract  of  several  thousand  acres  be- 
tween Dixon  and  the  Tradewater  River.  These  grants  were  allowed 
to  lapse,  and  some  years  later  the  land  was  regranted  to  settlers.  The 
town  of  Dixon  was  laid  out  on  the  land  of  Ambrose  Mooney,  who  gave 
the  land  on  which  the  courthouse  stands. 

What  is  left  of  what  was  the  HALFWAY  HOUSE,  on  Dixon  St.,  once 
a  stagecoach  inn,  has  been  weatherboarded  and  is  now  a  filling  station. 
In  1794  William  Jenkins,  the  town's  earliest  promoter,  constructed  the 


318  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

log  hostelry  within  the  stockade  "for  the  shelter  of  those  who  may 
become  residents  of  this  rich  and  beautiful  land,  and  for  the  rest  and 
comfort  of  travelers  passing  over  the  main  trail  leading  from  the  great 
trading  posts  of  the  North  to  Natchez  Trace,  far  to  the  South."  Soon 
after  its  erection,  Jenkins  was  captured  by  a  band  of  Cherokee  who 
came  to  like  him  and  kept  him  for  several  years.  They  were  so  fearful 
of  losing  him  that  they  plucked  his  hair  out  to  keep  a  neighboring  tribe 
from  scalping  him.  When  Jenkins  at  last  returned,  he  enlarged  the  inn, 
in  1816  built  the  first  frame  house  here,  and  yet  later  established  a 
cotton  gin.  The  rates  of  the  Halfway  House  appear  in  an  old  day 
book:  "Meals,  4.s  each;  bed,  4.s,  for  each  person;  whisky,  l.s  the 
drink.  Exchange  1  bu.  corn  for  1  gal.  whisky."  The  menu  was  game, 
corn  pone,  pork,  and  hominy.  Shuck  mattresses  were  used  on  the 
beds,  and  the  rule  of  the  inn  was  that  not  more  than  four  persons  might 
occupy  one  bed.  The  only  guest  who  did  not  sleep  on  a  shuck  mattress 
was  Meriwether  Lewis.  The  Governor,  in  spite  of  his  military  and 
exploring  experiences,  liked  his  feather  bed  and  deep  pillows;  so,  when 
he  arrived,  the  slaves  went  scurrying  about  the  village  to  borrow  these 
comforts. 

Alfred  Townes,  eccentric  friend  of  Audubon,  was  the  first  to  mine 
and  use  coal  in  Webster  County.  This  coal  was  an  outcropping  on  a 
hillside  at  the  edge  of  town,  just  off  the  old  Indian  Trail.  During  his 
development  of  the  coal  industry,  Townes  made  an  attempt  to  build  a 
railroad  into  the  section.  In  the  enterprise  he  utilized  the  labor  of  his 
slaves  and  spent  $125,000  of  his  own  money  but  he  failed  because  his 
financial  backers  withdrew  their  support.  Audubon  described  it  as  a 
"fine  dream  that  will  some  day  be  true." 

On  the  court  square  is  the  SITE  OF  THE  PRISON  PEN  where  Confed- 
erate prisoners  were  confined  after  the  skirmishes  of  Slaughters  (1862) 
and  Providence  (1864).  As  the  story  goes,  after  the  Providence  skir- 
mish 30  Confederate  prisoners,  who  happened  to  be  clad  in  unusually 
good  uniforms,  were  stripped  of  their  garments,  clothed  in  odds  and 
ends,  and  placed  in  this  log  pen,  from  which  they  promptly  escaped. 
At  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  survivors  of  the  group  marched 
through  Dixon  on  their  way  home,  and  saw  their  uniforms  on  the  home 
guards,  they  were  so  amazed  that  they  not  only  took  the  uniforms  but 
compelled  the  guards  to  carry  the  logs  from  the  pen  to  the  county  jail, 
where  several  Confederates  were  still  held.  The  prisoners  were  freed 
and  the  logs  were  used  to  set  the  jail  on  fire. 

The  RICE  HOUSE,  on  Main  St.,  at  the  southwestern  end  of  town,  is 
the  birthplace  (1872)  of  Cale  Young  Rice,  the  Kentucky  poet.  In 
1934  the  Webster  County  Historical  Society  planted  a  FRIENDSHIP 
GARDEN  around  the  house.  Each  tree,  shrub,  and  flower  bed  is  a 
tribute  from  some  Kentucky  admirer. 

Between  Dixon  and  Madisonville  US  41  passes  through  farming  and 
mining  country. 


TOUR    8  319 

MADISONVILLE,  55.6  m.  (470  alt.,  6,908  pop.),  named  for  James 
Madison,  is  in  the  center  of  the  plateau  between  the  Pond  and  Trade- 
water  Rivers,  a  region  of  hills,  rivers,  and  creek  bottoms,  where  it  is 
said  "any thing  grown  in  the  temperate  zone  will  grow."  Tobacco  is 
the  money-crop,  this  town  being  one  of  the  principal  loose-leaf  tobacco 
markets  in  western  Kentucky.  Large  quantities  of  hardwood  timber 
are  also  shipped  from  here. 

In  this  section  a  great  many  Indian  artifacts  and  relics  have  been 
found  along  the  creeks  and  rivers.  It  is  believed  that  in  the  group  of 
HOMINY  HOLES  near  Government  Schoolhouse,  milling  was  carried  on 
by  mechanical  means.  As  archeologists  have  decided,  six  of  these  round 
holes  in  the  hard  sandstone,  which  are  30  to  40  inches  in  diameter  and 
10  to  14  inches  deep,  were  used  to  hold  corn  that  was  crushed  by  large 
stone  pestles,  operated  by  spring  poles  and  counterweights. 

The  DANIEL  McGARY  HOUSE,  built  of  brick  in  1817,  is  a  one-story 
structure  with  a  gabled  roof  and  an  ell.  Facing  the  street  and  occupy- 
ing a  large  part  of  the  angle  of  the  ell  is  a  vine-hidden  porch,  added  in 
recent  years. 

South  of  Madisonville  US  41  traverses  coal  fields. 

EARLINGTON,  59.7  m.  (422  alt.,  3,309  pop.),  a  railroad  junction, 
is  the  heart  of  the  coal  fields.  On  Saturday  the  streets  are  filled  with 
miners  and  their  families  from  near-by  settlements.  On  the  southern 
outskirts  of  the  town  is  the  ATKINSON  ARBORETUM  (open),  containing 
a  variety  of  trees  and  shrubs. 

EARLINGTON  LAKE,  60.7  m.  (open  to  public),  offers  excellent 
boating,  swimming,  and  fishing. 

In  MORTON'S  GAP,  63.4  m.  (451  alt.,  1,068  pop.),  is  the  THOMAS 
MORTON  HOUSE,  built  by  the  town's  founder  in  1804.  It  is  a  rectangu- 
lar, two-story,  gable-roofed  structure  with  two  rooms  on  each  floor; 
various  additions,  including  a  porch,  now  give  it  a  rambling  appearance. 
The  different  colors  of  the  brick,  which  range  from  light  yellow  to  deep 
red,  are  the  result  of  the  differences  in  the  amount  of  heat  used  in  the 
process  of  burning.  The  crack  between  the  front  windows  was  made 
by  the  earthquake  in  1811. 

At  NORTONVILLE,  66.7  m.  (429  alt.,  829  pop.)  (see  Tour  14),  is 
the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14). 

South  of  the  coal  fields  of  Hopkins  County  the  highway  passes 
through  stretches  of  level  pasture  lands  and  rugged  picturesque  hills. 

HOPKINSVILLE,  91.4  m.  (541  alt.,  10,746  pop.),  one  of  the  lead- 
ing dark-fire  tobacco  markets  of  the  country,  gives  evidence  of  long 
prosperity  in  its  large  comfortable  old  houses  on  wide  lawns  and  in 
its  tree-shaded  streets  and  many  stores.  In  1797  Bartholomew  Wood 
gave  some  of  his  land  to  the  county  to  bring  the  county  seat  to  the 
settlement  here;  court  opened  in  November  in  a  log  house  20  feet 
square — quite  large  enough  for  the  business  of  the  very  thinly  settled 
region.  The  town  was  incorporated  in  1804,  about  the  time  the  rush 
of  settlers  from  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  began.  The  settlement, 


320  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

renamed  to  honor  Gen.  Samuel  Hopkins,  a  hero  of  the  War  of  1812, 
grew  slowly  but  steadily,  serving  the  people  of  a  wide  section  of  the 
southern  Pennyrile.  In  the  early  days,  a  visit  to  Hopkinsville  was  a 
visit  to  a  great  city  for  those  who  lived  on  the  scattered  farms  and  in 
the  hills. 

The  town  is  still  the  center  of  business  and  culture  in  the  region.  On 
Saturday  the  downtown  streets  are  filled  with  dusty  cars  and  slow- 
moving  streams  of  shoppers — or  those  who  make  shopping  an  excuse 
to  visit  the  movies  and  to  see  crowds.  During  November,  December, 
and  January,  however,  farmers  are  seen  on  the  streets  every  day  of 
the  week.  It  is  then  that  the  trucks  and  wagons  bring  in  dark-fire 
and  burley  tobacco  to  the  21  large  warehouses,  and  stand  in  long  lines 
as  the  farmers  wait  their  turns  to  unload.  After  the  unloading  the 
trucks  stand  empty  along  the  streets  for  hours  as  their  owners  celebrate 
their  relief  after  the  months  of  toil,  exchange  gossip  and  surmises  on 
prices,  pay  their  accumulated  bills,  and  buy  the  necessities  whose  pur- 
chase has  been  deferred  for  want  of  cash. 

Hopkinsville  is  the  headquarters  of  the  Farm  Security  Administra- 
tion's Christian-Trigg  Farms,  a  project  covering  more  than  8,000  acres 
in  Christian,  Trigg,  and  Todd  Counties.  It  was  designed  to  provide 
small  farms — they  average  67  acres — for  a  selected  group  of  tenants 
and  sharecroppers  in  these  counties  as  well  as  families  removed  from 
near-by  areas  that  were  submarginal  for  farming.  Each  unit  includes  a 
house,  barn,  smokehouse,  and  poultry  house.  Forty-eight  of  the  103 
farms  planned  were  occupied  in  October  1938  and  the  homesteaders, 
advised  by  Federal  agents,  had  worked  out  a  diversified  crop  plan  by 
which  the  families  raise  the  major  portion  of  their  food  and  the  feed  for 
their  stock  (chickens,  hogs,  and  milk  cows),  plant  legumes  to  enrich 
the  soil,  and  produce  tobacco  and  cotton  for  cash  crops. 

The  KNIGHT  HOUSE,  1810  S.  Main  St.,  is  a  one-story  brick  house 
of  the  Classic  Revival  style  built  about  1832  on  a  high  basement.  The 
structure  has  had  numerous  alterations  and  additions  that  have  changed 
its  original  lines.  When  first  built  it  was  apparently  a  one-story  dwell- 
ing with  a  recessed  entrance  in  the  front  gable  end.  The  sill  of  the  old 
entrance  is  now  several  feet  above  the  floor  of  the  simple  pedimented 
portico,  which  has  five  square  columns  and  a  rectangular  window  in  its 
pediment.  A  new  entrance  has  been  built  in  one  corner  of  the  fagade 
at  a  much  lower  level  than  the  old  one.  On  one  side  is  a  frame  wing 
and  on  the  other  a  porch  entered  from  the  higher  floor  level  and  set 
on  tall  brick  pillars. 

The  STITES  HOUSE,  714  E.  7th  St.,  is  a  spacious  two-story  low-roofed 
frame  structure  built  about  1850.  Its  two-story  pedimented  central 
portico  of  modified  Greek  Revival  style  has  only  two  square  columns. 
The  corners  of  the  structure  are  pilastered  and  the  enframement  of  the 
windows  and  side-lighted  entrance  has  a  restrained  elegance. 

The  Ross  DILLARD  HOUSE,  corner  of  Main  and  14th  Sts.,  built  about 
1856,  is  known  as  the  "steamboat  house"  because  of  its  resemblance  to 


TOUR    8  321 

the  river  craft  of  the  mid-nineteenth  century,  left  high  and  dry.  It  is 
of  frame  construction,  two  stories  high.  At  the  corners  of  the  low 
fagade  heavy  white  pilasters  rise  to  a  classic  frieze.  A  long,  shallow, 
one-story  semicircular  porch,  its  floor  only  slightly  above  ground  level, 
has  a  paneled  balustrade  around  its  deck  roof,  which  is  supported  by 
five  round  tapering  columns  on  high  square  bases.  Two  large  windows 
in  the  low  second-story  opening  onto  this  deck  give  the  illusion  of  a 
pilot  house.  The  low  sloping  roof  is  pierced  by  two  stack-like  chimneys 
some  distance  from  the  low  gable  ends. 

Tradition  is  that  prior  to  the  War  between  the  States,  Dillard,  a 
farmer,  was  so  impressed  by  the  steamboat  in  which  he  traveled  to  New 
Orleans  that  on  his  return  he  had  an  architect  build  this  house  for  him, 
a  memorial  to  the  floating  palace.  During  the  War  between  the  States 
this  home  became  for  a  time  military  headquarters  of  the  Federal  forces 
of  occupation. 

The  WALTER  DOWNES  HOUSE,  15th  and  Main  Sts.,  is  a  large  two- 
story  brick  structure  built  in  the  1840's.  It  has  brackets  under  the  eaves 
and  tall  chimney  pots — possibly  later  additions — but  the  details  of  the 
trim  and  the  four  tall,  fluted,  Ionic  columns  of  the  broad  pedimented 
portico  have  a  Greek  Revival  refinement.  An  unusual  feature  is  the 
paneled  balustrade  of  the  small  balcony  over  the  side-lighted  entrance 
doorway. 

The  main  building  of  BETHEL  WOMEN'S  JUNIOR  COLLEGE,  a  Baptist 
institution  founded  in  1854,  is  three  stories  high,  built  of  brick  in  the 
Greek  Revival  style. 

The  STATE  ARMORY,  corner  Main  and  5th  Sts.,  is  owned  jointly  by 
the  State,  county,  and  city. 

Hopkinsville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

1.  Right  from  Hopkinsville  on  State  107  to  SWALLOW  SPRING,  5  m.  (open  to 
public),  an  ordinary-looking  sinkhole  in  a  field  by   the  side  of  the  road,  sur- 
rounded by  fertile  land.    At  intervals,  sometimes  several  years  apart,  this  sinkhole 
becomes  a  boiling  spring  that  fills  the  valley  with  a  lake  several  acres  in  extent. 
After  remaining  for  months,  the  water  eventually  subsides,  often  leaving  a  large 
number  of  fish.    The  roadway  has  been  raised  at  this  point  to  avoid  the  overflow- 
ing waters. 

2.  Right  from  Hopkinsville  on  US  41 W  to  EDGETON,  16.7  m.,  on  the  Ten- 
nessee Line,  59  miles  north  of  Nashville,  Tenn.  (see  Tenn.  Tour  8A). 

South  of  Hopkinsville  US  4 IE,  now  the  route,  crosses  many  meander- 
ing streams  as  it  traverses  a  region  with  great  stretches  of  level  pasture 
lands,  spacious  homesteads  surrounded  by  orchards,  gardens,  and  groves 
of  beech,  walnut,  and  oak. 

GUTHRIE,  114  m.  (1,272  pop.),  is  a  railroad  center  named  for 
James  Guthrie,  president  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  in  1867, 
when  the  town  was  incorporated.  The  LOUISVILLE  &  NASHVILLE  TIE- 
TREATING  PLANT  is  here. 

US  41E  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  114.5  m.,  52  miles  north  of  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.  (see  Tenn.  Tours  8  and  9). 


322  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 


Tour  9 


(Metropolis,     111.) — Paducah — Mayfield — Fulton — (Martin,     Tenn.); 
US  45.    Illinois  Line  to  Tennessee  Line,  53  Am. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

Illinois  Central  R.R.  parallels  route  throughout. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  towns,  limited  elsewhere. 

This  route  crosses  the  western  section  of  the  State,  which  is  called 
the  Jackson  Purchase  because  the  United  States,  on  October  19,  1818, 
through  its  commissioners,  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson  and  Gov.  Isaac  Shelby, 
purchased  from  the  Chickasaw  Indians,  for  the  sum  of  $300,000,  8,500 
square  miles  of  desolate  wilderness,  west  of  the  Tennessee  River.  Today 
that  territory  comprises  eight  counties  in  the  westernmost  section  of 
Kentucky  and  20  counties  in  Tennessee,  and  is  among  the  most  fertile 
sections  in  both  of  these  States.  The  surface  of  the  region  is  gently 
undulating  with  a  few  ridges  along  the  highway.  The  area  yields  such 
a  quantity  of  fruits  and  vegetables  that  huge  trucks  loaded  with  straw- 
berries, dewberries,  apples,  peaches,  and  tomatoes,  lumber  over  the  high- 
ways day  and  night  during  the  growing  season.  Tobacco  and  corn  are 
also  raised  in  quantities  and,  in  the  southernmost  section,  cotton  is 
grown.  In  the  southwestern  part  are  still  many  fine  stands  of  poplar, 
hickory,  and  oak.  Near  the  Tennessee  Line  trees  and  shrubs  border  the 
road. 

US  45  crosses  the  Illinois  Line,  0  m.,  13  miles  southeast  of  Metropolis, 
111.  (see  III.  Tour  3),  on  the  Brookport-Paducah  Bridge  (toll  50$)  over 
the  Ohio  River. 

PADUCAH,  4.5  m.  (341  alt.,  33,541  pop.)  (see  Paducah). 

Points  of  Interest:  Paduke  Statue,  Tilghman  Memorial,  Irvin  Cobb  Hotel,  Mc- 
Cracken  County  Courthouse,  Nobel  Park,  and  others. 

Paducah  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  US  62  (see 
Tour  14),  and  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

MAYFIELD,  30  m.  (421  alt.,  8,177  pop.),  seat  of  Graves  County, 
like  many  other  Southern  cities,  is  built  around  the  courthouse  which 
is  in  the  center  of  a  block  known  as  Court  Square. 

A  man  named  Mayfield,  according  to  local  legend,  journeyed  from 
Mississippi  to  Mills  Point  (now  Hickman)  in  1817  to  attend  the  races. 
There  he  was  captured  by  a  band  of  ruffians  who  carried  him  to  the 
banks  of  a  near-by  creek  to  rob  him.  After  carving  his  name  on  a  tree 
near  the  stream,  Mayfield  attempted  to  escape  by  crossing  the  creek 


TOUR    9  323 

on  a  log,  but  was  shot  and  fell  into  the  water.  Afterward  the  creek  was 
called  Mayfield,  and  when  this  town  was  organized  in  1823  the  name 
was  applied  to  the  town. 

In  MAPLEWOOD  CEMETERY  (L),  within  sight  of  US  45  in  the  north- 
ern outskirts  of  the  city,  are  the  WOOLRIDGE  MONUMENTS.  These  me- 
morials were  erected  by  Henry  C.  Woolridge,  who  accumulated  a  large 
fortune  in  Mayfield  as  a  horse  trader  and  breeder.  All  facing  toward 
the  east  and  surrounding  the  vault,  where  the  body  of  Woolridge  now 
lies,  are  the  life-sized  stone  statues.  The  standing  figure  of  Woolridge 
was  carved  in  Italy  of  marble.  Those  of  his  mother,  his  brothers,  two 
girls  who  were  friends  of  his  youth,  his  favorite  dogs,  a  deer  that  heads 
this  procession,  a  fox,  and  a  sculpture  of  Woolridge  mounted  on  his 
favorite  horse,  Pop,  are  the  work  of  a  stonecutter  from  Paducah.  At 
the  rear  of  the  lot  are  figures  of  his  sisters  made  by  a  third  sculptor. 

Near  the  northern  limits  of  Mayfield  is  (L)  the  PET  MILK  COMPANY 
PLANT  (open),  which  employs  50  men,  and  pays  to  farmers  an  average 
of  $37,000  monthly  for  milk.  The  MERIT  CLOTHING  COMPANY  FAC- 
TORY (open)  and  the  CURLEE  CLOTHING  COMPANY  FACTORY  (open) 
together  employ  1,800  men  and  women  in  the  manufacture  of  men's 
and  boys'  suits  and  overcoats. 

On  Mule  Day  ( 3rd  Mon.  in  Feb.)  mules  are  brought  to  the  city  in 
droves  or  by  truck  and  offered  for  sale  in  the  "swapping  ring,"  a  re- 
served portion  of  the  street  around  the  public  square.  The  ring  pre- 
sents a  lively  scene,  thronged  with  mules  and  buyers,  traffickers,  and 
speculators  who  dicker  for  anything  from  a  mule  to  a  pocketknife. 

Mayfield  is  in  the  center  of  a  large  area  that  produces  dark  fire- 
cured  tobacco.  During  the  loose-leaf  sales  season  (Dec.-May)  from 
15  to  20  million  pounds  of  tobacco  are  sold  from  the  sales  floors  here 
(see  Tour  5).  Representatives  of  manufacturing  and  exporting  firms 
from  many  parts  of  the  country  attend  these  sales. 

Thousands  of  tons  of  clay  are  dug  annually  between  Mayfield  and 
the  Tennessee  Line — an  area  noted  for  the  variety  of  its  clays — and 
sent  from  Mayfield  to  other  parts  of  the  country  for  utilization  in  the 
manufacture  of  ceramic  ware.  The  largest  of  these  mines,  the  KEN- 
TUCKY-TENNESSEE CLAY  COMPANY  MINE  (open),  32  m.  (L),  has  been 
continuously  worked  for  more  than  40  years,  and  produces  ball  clays 
of  high  type.  The  production  of  ball  clays  in  the  United  States  began 
in  1891,  when  a  deposit  of  exceptional  quality  was  revealed  near  this 
mine  by  the  digging  of  a  water  well. 

At  44  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  graveled  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  a  monument,  1  m.,  marking  the  SITE  OF  CAMP  BEAUREGARD, 
named  in  honor  of  Gen.  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard,  commander  of  the  western  depart- 
ment of  the  Confederate  Army.  This  camp  was  established  in  August  1861  as  a 
recruiting  station  and  assignment  base  for  the  Confederate  troops.  In  November 
1861,  6,000  Alabama,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  and  Mississippi  troops  arrived 
here;  inclement  weather  and  lack  of  accommodations  brought  on  an  epidemic  of 
measles,  meningitis,  typhoid,  and  pneumonia.  During  the  month  over  1,500  burials 
were  made,  and  the  survivors  were  removed.  Camp  Beauregard  continued  to  be 


324  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

used  as  an  assignment  base  until  January  7,  1862,  when  it  was  captured  by  Gen. 
C.  F.  Smith  and  his  Union  forces. 

WATER  VALLEY,  46.3  m.  (351  pop.),  contains  a  canning  plant 
that  furnishes  employment  to  a  large  number  of  people  during  the 
season. 

Between  Water  Valley  and  the  Tennessee  Line  is  the  northern  border 
of  the  South's  cotton-growing  region. 

FULTON,  52.5  m.  (357  alt.,  3,503  pop.),  named  for  Robert  Fulton, 
consists  really  of  two  towns,  being  on  the  border  line  between  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee.  The  Tennessee  section,  with  a  population  of  2,000,  is 
called  South  Fulton.  Each  has  its  own  city  government  and  school 
system,  but  the  single  post  office  is  on  the  Kentucky  side.  Three  lines 
of  the  Illinois  Central  System  converge  at  Fulton,  attracting  numbers 
of  people  from  the  North  as  well  as  the  South.  The  average  monthly 
payroll  of  employees  in  the  railroad  yards  is  approximately  $40,000. 
Poultry  and  milk  plants  belonging  to  Swift  &  Company  also  provide 
employment.  The  city  also  has  a  COTTON  GIN. 

Fulton  is  at  the  junction  with  US  51  (see  Tour  10). 

US  45-51  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  53.4  m.,  10.8  miles  north  of 
Martin,  Tenn.  (US  45,  see  Tenn.  Tour  10)  and  10.9  miles  north  of 
Union  City,  Tenn.  (US  51,  see  Tenn.  Tour  11). 


Tour  10 


( Cairo,    111. )  —  Wickliffe  —  Bardwell  —  Clinton  —  Fulton  —  ( Memphis, 

Tenn.);  US  51. 

Illinois  Line  to  Tennessee  Line,  45  m. 

Illinois  Central  R.R.  parallels  the  route. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  towns ;  limited  elsewhere. 

US  51,  in  crossing  the  westernmost  tip  of  Kentucky,  passes  through 
an  area  rich  in  agricultural  products  and  replete  with  historical  asso- 
ciations. Along  the  roadside  are  level  fields  of  grassland  interspersed 
with  tobacco,  corn,  and,  in  the  southern  extremity,  cotton.  Back  from 
the  highway,  extending  from  the  Ohio  River  to  Tennessee,  is  a  chain  of 
attractive  small  lakes  fringed  with  cypress.  Along  the  high  bluffs  over- 
looking the  Mississippi  River  are  ancient  barrows,  remains  of  stone 
forts,  fortified  towns,  and  a  paved  canal,  last  traces  of  the  prehistoric 
people  who  preceded  the  Indians  in  this  region. 

US  51  crosses  the  Illinois  Line,  0  m.,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Ohio 
River,  almost  a  mile  south  of  Cairo,  111.  (see  III.  Tour  4),  on  a  bridge 


TOUR    10  325 

(toll,  75$;  combination  toll  for  this  and  Mississippi  River  bridge,  $1) 
over  the  Ohio  River. 

Between  this  point  and  Wickliffe,  US  51  and  US  60  are  one  route 
(see  Tour  16). 

WICKLIFFE,  5.1  m.  (332  alt.,  1,108  pop.)  (see  Tour  16),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16). 

The  SITE  OF  OLD  FORT  JEFFERSON  (R),  5.9  m.,  is  on  a  hill  overlook- 
ing the  Mississippi  River.  In  1780  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  under 
orders  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  Governor  of  Virginia,  constructed  a 
stockade  at  this  point.  It  was  later  abandoned  because  of  its  isolated 
position. 

BARDWELL,  14  m.  (390  alt.,  1,139  pop.),  seat  of  Carlisle  County, 
last  established  county  of  the  Jackson  Purchase,  derived  its  name  from  a 
bored  well  here,  which  supplied  trains  with  water.  The  town  is  a  retail 
center. 

Right  from  Bardwell  on  State  123,  an  improved  road,  to  COLUMBUS,  11.5  m. 
(513  pop.),  first  seat  of  Hickman  County,  and  COLUMBUS-BELMONT  MEMO- 
RIAL STATE  PARK  (adm.  10$,  picnic  grounds,  shelter  houses),  12.1  m.,  on  the 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  River  at  the  old  town  site  of  Columbus. 

The  site  was  named  Iron  Banks  by  early  French  explorers,  who  discovered  the 
iron  deposits  that  made  the  great  bluffs  rust-colored  at  this  point.  In  1784  when 
Virginia,  in  order  to  pay  off  its  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  Army,  issued  warrants 
for  lands  along  the  Mississippi  River,  a  group  of  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark's  vet- 
erans took  up  land  in  this  area.  A  military  post  was  here  in  1804,  when  Federal 
troops  were  rushed  to  this  place  at  the  time  of  the  Burr  conspiracy.  A  settlement 
grew  up  and  a  courthouse  and  jail,  the  first  in  the  Purchase,  were  built  in  1823. 
The  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France  in  1803  and  the  burning  of  the  Capitol  at 
Washington  in  1814  caused  real  estate  speculators  to  proclaim  this  place  as  the  ap- 
proximate center  of  the  Nation  and  to  start  propaganda  to  remove  the  seat  of  the 
national  government  to  this  less  vulnerable  spot.  Engineers  laid  out  plans  for  a 
city  to  be  named  Columbus.  The  promoters  were  unsuccessful,  but  the  name  re- 
mained. The  plan  of  the  development  is  among  the  early  records  in  the  court- 
house. 

During  the  War  between  the  States,  Columbus  again  sprang  into  the  national 
picture.  The  Northern  program  for  conquest  of  the  South  involved,  as  its  major 
Western  feature,  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi.  To  checkmate  that  strategy  Gen. 
Leonidas  Polk,  C.S.A.,  seized  and  heavily  fortified  the  bluff  at  the  point  known  as 
Iron  Banks.  Although  this  act  was  the  first  official  violation  of  Kentucky's  avowed 
neutrality,  both  sides  had  been  recruiting  and  propagandizing  in  the  State  from  the 
very  beginning  of  the  war.  General  Polk's  move  was  dictated  by  the  fear  that 
Union  troops  might  forestall  them  in  seizing  this  strategic  position.  A  great  chain 
more  than  a  mile  long  was  stretched  across  the  river  to  prevent  further  passage 
southward  of  the  Union  gunboats.  Its  links  weighed  15  pounds  each;  the  chain 
was  attached  on  the  Kentucky  shore  to  a  six-ton  anchor  bedded  deep  in  the  side 
of  the  bluff.  One  hundred  and  forty  guns,  so  placed  as  to  sweep  the  river,  were 
arranged  at  four  elevations — 40,  85,  and  97  feet  above  water,  and  crowning  the 
200-foot  top  of  the  bluff.  This  formidable  array  of  artillery  was  protected  by  mas- 
sive earthworks  against  the  gunfire  of  the  fleet,  and,  by  an  intricate  system  of 
trenches,  parapets,  redoubts,  and  abatis,  against  attack  by  land.  The  Missouri 
bank  of  the  river  at  Belmont  was  also  held  by  a  small  Confederate  force. 

In  November  1861  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  moved  south  from  Cairo  and  landed  his 
army  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the  river.  He  overwhelmed  the  Confederate  forces, 
and  burned  the  Confederate  camp  at  Belmont.  General  Polk  sent  troops  across 
the  river  that  struck  at  the  Union  force,  driving  it  back  to  its  transports,  and  a 


326  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Union  disaster  was  narrowly  averted.  Realizing  that  Columbus  was  impregnable, 
Grant  swung  eastward,  captured  the  Confederate  position  at  Fort  Henry,  forced 
the  surrender  of  General  Buckner  at  Fort  Donelson,  fought  the  bitter  battle  of 
Pittsburg  Landing,  or  Shiloh,  and  by  this  surrounding  movement  forced  the  evacua- 
tion of  Columbus.  Some  of  the  guns  were  spiked  and  thrown  into  the  river; 
others  were  taken  to  the  next  Confederate  defensive  position  at  Island  Number  10. 
The  battle  of  Belmont  was  the  beginning  of  the  great  Western  struggle  that  con- 
tinued without  interruption  until  Vicksburg  had  fallen,  and  the  armies  of  the 
North  swept  eastward  to  the  sea. 

When,  in  1927,  the  high  water  of  that  year  forced  the  citizens  of  Columbus  to 
abandon  their  homes,  the  American  Red  Cross  built  a  new  town  on  the  higher 
land  to  the  east.  All  persons  securing  home  sites  in  the  new  town,  conveyed  their 
former  lands  back  to  the  city,  which  in  turn  deeded  these  lands,  together  with  the 
streets  and  alleys,  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky.  Other  lands  were  acquired 
by  purchase  and  a  total  of  331  acres  was  made  available  as  a  site  for  the  present 
State  park,  built  since  July  1934  by  CCC  labor,  to  commemorate  the  struggle  that 
took  place  here  between  Union  and  Confederate  forces. 

The  restored  FORTIFICATIONS  AND  TRENCHES  approach,  in  their  completeness  of 
detail,  those  built  during  the  World  War.  The  great  SEA  ANCHOR  with  links  of 
the  huge  chain  are  among  the  show  pieces  of  the  park.  A  blockhouse,  similar  to 
the  one  erected  in  1780  by  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  houses  many  of  the  smaller 
relics  gathered  from  the  trenches.  Roads  and  a  lookout  tower  afford  views  of  the 
winding  river  and  fortressed  hill. 

CLINTON,  29.2  m.  (389  alt.,  1,204  pop.),  seat  of  Hickman  County 
since  1829,  and  retail  trade  center  for  a  fertile  agricultural  region,  is  an 
attractive  small  town  with  beautiful  homes  and  spacious  lawns.  The 
town  was  platted  in  1826  by  James  Gibson  and  incorporated  in  1831 
after  the  seat  of  county  government  had  been  moved  here  from  Co- 
lumbus. Cotton  growing  and  cotton  ginning — early  occupations — have 
steadily  grown  in  importance.  An  article  by  Don  Singletary,  M.D., 
gives  an  excellent  picture  of  Clinton  in  the  early  nineteenth  century: 

"When  I  first  saw  Clinton  it  was  a  very  small  crossroad  village.  .  .  . 
Professors  George  and  Marion  Ray  had  built  Clinton  Academy  and  had 
filled  it  with  pupils  from  four  or  more  States.  Up  to  1850  our  county 
was  mostly  wooded  where  grew  great  oaks,  whose  acorns  fed  and  fat- 
tened our  hogs,  and  we  lived  on  hog  and  hominy — the  fat  of  the  land. 
Cattle  kept  fat  in  the  woods  all  summer  and  early  fall,  and  even  did 
fairly  well  by  nosing  under  great  beds  of  dry  leaves  and  getting  dry 
green  grass  and  acorns  in  winter.  We  lived  well:  Milk  and  butter, 
chickens  and  eggs  were  abundant.  Eggs  were  sold  at  5  and  6  cents  a 
dozen,  and  large  fat  hens  at  25  cents  each.  Money  was  scarce,  but  we 
did  not  need  much.  Our  clothes  grew  by  special  hand  work.  I  re- 
member well  our  cotton  and  flax  patches,  and  sheepfold.  We  picked 
and  de-seeded  our  cotton  by  hand  and  carded  and  spun  our  thread  for 
sewing,  and  wove  our  own  cloth.  We  cut,  fitted  and  made  beautiful 
clothes.  Women  folks  were  also  experts  in  cloth  dyeing.  Walnut,  oak, 
and  hickory  bark  and  elder  berries  made  a  variety  of  lovely  colors. 
The  spinning  wheel  and  the  old  loom  come  back  in  memory.  I  see  the 
shuttle  fly  and  hear  the  wheel  hum  right  now.  We  also  treated  our 
wool  in  like  manner.  We  were  warmly  dressed  in  winter,  and  also  had 


TOUR    10  327 

blankets  galore.  Our  shoes  grew  up  at  home  and  were  home-made, 
after  a  year's  tanning." 

Along  the  entire  course  of  Bayou  De  Chien  Creek,  which  runs 
through  Hickman  County  and  a  corner  of  Fulton  County,  is  a  series 
of  mounds,  camp  sites,  and  burial  fields  that  have  yielded  unusual  and 
beautiful  artifacts  covering  a  wide  range  of  subjects  and  designs. 

At  39  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  94,  a  paved  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  the  CASEY  JONES  MONUMENT,  6.9  m.,  a  limestone  slab  that 
bears  a  bronze  tablet  showing  a  bas-relief  of  the  Cannon  Ball — the  engine  Jones 
was  driving  at  the  time  of  his  death.  John  Luther  Jones,  later  known  to  fame  as 
"Cayce"  or  "Casey"  Jones,  was  born  March  14,  1864,  at  Jordan,  Kentucky,  the 
son  of  a  schoolteacher.  At  the  age  of  17  he  grew  restless,  walked  the  ties  to  Cayce 
and  there  got  his  first  job.  Promotion  came  rapidly:  before  he  was  30  Jones  had 
passed  successively  from  helper  for  a  Mobile  &  Ohio  telegraph  operator  through 
all  the  steps  to  passenger  engineer  on  the  Illinois  Central,  an  important  job  in  those 
days. 

He  settled  in  Jackson,  Tennessee,  while  still  with  the  Mobile  &  Ohio,  and  his 
proud  boast  was  that  he  always  got  his  train  through  on  time.  Casey  had  been 
given  the  crack  assignment,  Old  382,  the  Cannon  Ball,  in  the  early  morning  of 
April  30,  1900,  and  while  driving  through  a  thick  fog  near  Vaughn,  Mississippi,  he 
saw  a  freight  train  a  few  feet  ahead  on  his  track.  He  ordered  his  Negro  fireman 
to  jump,  stuck  to  his  cab,  and  though  he  was  unable  to  prevent  a  crash,  kept  his 
load  on  the  rails,  and  saved  the  passengers  in  the  12  coaches.  His  scalded  body 
was  removed  from  the  tangled  wreckage  and  buried  at  Jackson,  Tennessee.  It  be- 
came the  custom  for  engineers  to  salute  his  grave  with  a  whistle  as  they  passed  the 
cemetery.  Before  long  doggerel  celebrating  the  engineer  was  being  recited  and 
sung.  It  is  believed  that  a  Negro  worker  in  Memphis  first  gave  the  ballad  wide 
popularity.  Eddie  Newton  scored  it  and  had  it  published.  Every  singer  felt  free 
to  add  a  verse  or  two,  some  of  which  were  none  too  complimentary  to  Casey's 
widow  who  at  length  appealed  to  law  to  restrain  public  performers  from  singing 
the  slanderous  additions. 

CAYCE,  7.3  m.  (131  pop.),  was  the  boyhood  home  of  "Casey"  Jones. 

At  14.3  m.  on  State  94  is  the  junction  with  a  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road,  2  m.,  to  the  junction  with  an  unimproved  dirt  road  beside 
an  Indian  fortification,  on  a  high  bluff  known  locally  as  Indian  Hill,  and  to  arche- 
ologists  as  O'Byam's  Fort.  It  is  believed  to  be  one  of  the  most  ancient  mounds  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  This  site,  from  which  many  artifacts  have  been  taken,  has 
been  partially  obliterated  by  cultivation  and  by  the  grading  of  a  road. 

Right  4  m.  from  the  Indian  fortification  on  the  unimproved  dirt  road,  which 
follows  Bayou  De  Chien  Creek,  to  the  FORT  BAYOU  DE  CHIEN  MOUNDS,  locally 
known  as  the  Roberts  Mounds  and  believed  to  be  very  old.  The  seven  large 
mounds  that  form  the  group  average  IS  to  20  feet  in  height,  50  to  100  feet  in 
diameter,  are  grouped  rather  closely  together  in  an  area  of  about  five  acres,  and 
are  built  upon  an  elevated  artificial  plateau  rising  10  to  IS  feet  above  the  surround- 
ing plain.  The  largest  three  mounds  are  quadrangular,  while  the  others  are  cir- 
cular. One  high  mound  stands  like  a  sentinel  dominating  the  entire  scene. 

A  short  distance  from  the  mound  group  a  PREHISTORIC  CANAL,  locally 
known  as  Lake  Slough,  connects  Bayou  De  Chien  Creek  with  Obion  Creek,  at  the 
northern  end  of  which  is  another  group  of  mounds  representing  a  prehistoric  vil- 
lage site  locally  known  as  McLeod's  Bluffs  Mounds.  The  canal,  approximately  five 
miles  in  length,  is  believed  to  be  entirely  artificial  and  to  have  been  used  as  a 
waterway  for  the  passage  of  canoes  between  the  two  ancient  cities  that  were  sepa- 
rated by  an  almost  impenetrable  jungle.  The  ancient  Bayou  De  Chien,  unlike  the 
present  stream  whose  course  was  changed  by  the  earthquake  of  1811-12,  found  its 
way  to  the  Mississippi  by  way  of  Reelfoot  Lake  at  a  point  southwest  of  the  lake. 
Canoes  making  the  river  trip  had  to  make  a  dangerous  100-mile  voyage  in  order 


328  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

to  reach  a  point  five  miles  away.  Within  a  primeval  forest  here  are  unexplored 
mounds  and  fortifications  which,  according  to  scientists,  present  the  richest  oppor- 
tunity for  archeological  research  in  southwestern  Kentucky.  This  site  was  men- 
tioned by  Rafinesque  in  his  Ancient  History  of  Kentucky,  written  in  1824. 

In  HICKMAN,  15.9  m.  on  State  94  (306  alt.,  2,321  pop.),  is  one  of  the  two 
seats  of  Fulton  County,  a  river  town  that  serves  the  surrounding  agricultural  re- 
gion as  a  shipping  point.  In  the  town  are  some  small  manufacturing  plants  includ- 
ing several  cotton  gins.  Hickman  is  built  on  three  levels  of  a  great  bluff  over- 
looking the  Mississippi  River;  the  bottoms  contain  the  business  section;  on  top 
of  the  bluff,  200  feet  above  the  second  level  of  the  town,  is  the  main  residential 
section  with  churches,  schools,  a  library,  and  a  courthouse,  from  which  there  is  an 
exceptionally  fine  view.  In  his  Life  on  the  Mississippi,  Samuel  L.  Clemens  men- 
tioned Hickman  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  towns  along  the  river.  A  concrete 
sea  wall,  erected  by  the  U.S.  Government  in  1934  to  protect  the  low-lying  business 
district,  withstood  the  flood  of  1937.  This  site,  known  first  as  Mills  Point,  was 
settled  in  1819  by  James  Mills  whose  cabin  home  became  a  shipping  point  for  the 
Mississippi  River  trade.  Long  ox  trains  rolled  laboriously  over  the  roads  to  Mills 
Point  bearing  the  produce  of  farms  to  be  shipped  to  the  markets.  Returning,  they 
carried  merchandise  to  the  inland  towns  and  supplies  to  the  settlers.  To  Mills 
Point  pioneers  came  in  their  covered  wagons  and  ferried  over  the  Mississippi  to 
settle  Missouri  and  Arkansas.  In  the  days  of  the  great  Ohio  and  Mississippi  river 
packets,  this  was  the  metropolis  of  an  extensive  area.  In  1834  a  large  part  of  the 
area  was  purchased  by  a  Tennessee  settler  who  named  it  Hickman  in  honor  of  his 
wife's  family.  Early  accounts  of  the  village  reprinted  in  the  Hickman  Courier  in 
1885  record  that  in  1840,  when  the  town's  population  was  only  500,  its  exports 
included  50,000  bushels  of  wheat,  200,000  bushels  of  corn,  3,000  hogsheads  of  to- 
bacco, 2,000  bales  of  cotton,  and  30,000  dozen  turkeys  and  chickens. 

Fulton  County,  especially  the  rich  flat  alluvial  land  south  and  west  of  Hickman, 
raises  much  of  the  cotton  grown  in  Kentucky.  The  land  in  this  region  is  held 
mostly  in  large  tracts,  still  called  plantations,  and  is  worked  mainly  by  Negro  ten- 
ants and  sharecroppers  (see  Labor).  The  landowners  live  in  town  and  drive  to 
their  plantations  each  day.  Groups  of  pickaninnies  play  about  the  doors  of  the 
tiny  cabins  scattered  along  the  roadside  and  in  the  fields  of  cotton,  corn,  and 
alfalfa.  During  the  cotton-picking  season,  in  September,  the  snowy  fields  are  full 
of  Negro  men,  women,  and  children,  often  dressed  in  bright  colors;  they  pick  the 
fleecy  bolls,  which  are  dropped  into  long  canvas  bags  that  are  dragged  behind 
them  across  the  hot  fields.  The  picking  is  often  done  to  the  drone  of  the  tradi- 
tional songs. 

The  northern  end  of  REELFOOT  LAKE  (hunting  and  fishing)  is  on 
State  94  at  29  m.  This  lake,  most  of  which  is  in  Tennessee,  was  created 
by  sudden  inundation  by  the  Mississippi  River  during  the  New  Madrid 
earthquake  of  1811-12.  Twenty  miles  in  length,  and  varying  from  one 
to  five  miles  in  width,  the  lake  covers  a  submerged  forest  that  lifts 
skeleton  arms  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  Wild  game,  ducks,  geese, 
and  other  waterfowl  inhabit  the  region,  and  the  deep  pools  abound  with 
game  fish.  In  Tennessee  the  lake  is  a  part  of  a  State  preserve. 

FULTON,  44.1  m.  (357  alt.,  3,503  pop.)  (see  Tour  9),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  45  (see  Tour  9). 

At  45  m.  US  51-45  crosses  the  Tennessee  Line,  10.8  miles  north  of 
Martin,  Tenn.  (US  45,  see  Term.  Tour  10)  and  10.9  miles  north  of 
Union  City,  Tenn.  (US  51,  see  Tenn.  Tour  11). 


TOUR    II  329 


Tour  11 


South    Portsmouth — Vanceburg — Maysville — Alexandria;     109.7    m. 
State  10. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

Chesapeake  and  Ohio  R.R.  roughly  parallels  this  route. 

Hotels  chiefly  in  cities. 

State  10,  called  the  Mary  Inglis  (or  Ingles)  Trail,  runs  along  the 
Ohio  River  most  of  the  way  between  South  Portsmouth  and  Vanceburg, 
makes  a  detour  to  the  outer  Knobs  plateau,  comes  back  to  the  river  at 
Maysville,  and  then  relegates  itself  again  to  the  back  country,  though 
at  several  places  it  is  fairly  close  to  the  Ohio  in  point  of  miles. 

At  one  time  the  slopes  of  the  billowing  plateau  that  rears  up  beside 
the  Ohio  were  densely  wooded.  Besides  the  common  maples  and  syca- 
mores, this  region  had  a  good  deal  of  poplar  and  some  scrub  pine. 
Then,  in  the  early  nineteenth  century,  lumbering  took  away  the  best 
timber,  leaving  the  land  scraggly  and  subject  to  erosion.  All  the  top- 
soil  was  soon  carried  off  down  the  river.  Attempts  to  till  the  badly 
wornout  land  have  almost  completely  ruined  it,  and  today  it  climbs 
bare  to  a  meager  tree  line. 

Except  for  Vanceburg  and  Maysville,  the  communities  along  the 
route  are  tiny,  and  cluster  beside  the  highway  or  along  the  railroad 
tracks.  The  road  is  seldom  out  of  sight  of  habitation,  which  is  usually 
a  frame  house  that  has  somehow  managed  to  remain  erect.  The  people 
eke  out  a  slender  existence  by  farming  and  have  a  few  mangy  dogs, 
cattle,  and  horses,  but  they  go  out  hunting  'possum  and  rabbits  during 
the  fall  season  and  at  all  times  seem  less  unhappy  than  the  stranger 
expects  them  to  be. 

Life  along  the  route  is  closely  tied  up  with  the  river  and  the  road; 
the  traveler  is  conscious  of  one  or  both  throughout  his  journey.  From 
1780  to  1815,  the  period  when  the  wave  of  Western  settlement  crossed 
the  Alleghenies  and  penetrated  the  Ohio  River  region,  the  river  brought 
boatloads  of  restless  immigrants  down  to  Limestone  (now  Maysville), 
then  picked  them  up  again  and  took  them  westward.  Some  people  re- 
mained in  Limestone  and  along  the  Kentucky  shoreline.  Except  at 
Limestone,  Vanceburg,  and  Augusta,  the  succeeding  era  of  great  river 
traffic  brought  little  prosperity  to  the  immigrants  scattered  along  the 
river  and  among  the  near-by  knobs. 

When  the  Maysville  &  Big  Sandy  R.R.  rushed  up  to  compete  with 
the  steamers  in  the  early  1880's,  the  towns  became  sprightly  and  hope- 
ful. But  the  C.  &  O.  R.R.  bought  the  Maysville  &  Big  Sandy  in  1888, 


330  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

and  made  it  merely  a  coal-bearing  branch  of  the  main  road  terminating 
at  Russell,  Ky.  When  the  development  of  the  steel  industry  in  north- 
eastern Ohio  shifted  importance  to  roads  cut  through  eastern  Kentucky 
to  the  coal  fields,  Russell  became  a  great  freight  terminal  and  Ashland 
a  steel  center;  the  rest  of  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river  languished. 

SOUTH  PORTSMOUTH,  0  m.  (660  alt.,  500  pop.),  a  scattering  of 
frame  houses  looking  at  Portsmouth  on  the  Ohio  side  of  the  river  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  is  on  THE  SITE  OF  LOWER  TOWN,  the  first 
white  village  in  Kentucky.  The  group  of  log  cabins  was  established  by 
French  traders  with  the  help  and  protection  of  Shawnee  many  years 
prior  to  the  French  and  Indian  War  (1753).  An  entry  in  Christopher 
Gist's  journal  of  1751  tells  of  his  visiting  the  French  traders  who  lived 
in  the  Shawnee  town  built  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Scioto  River.  In  July  1765  Col.  George  Croghan,  then  an  agent  of 
the  British  Government,  also  visited  the  place  and  noted  in  his  journal: 

"On  the  Ohio,  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  on  a  high  bank, 
near  forty  feet,  formerly  stood  the  Shawneese  town  called  Lower  Town 
— which  was  all  carried  away,  except  three  or  four  houses,  by  a  great 
flood.  I  was  in  the  town  at  the  time.  Although  the  banks  of  the  Ohio 
were  so  high,  yet  the  water  was  nine  feet  over  the  top,  which  obliged 
the  whole  town  to  take  to  their  canoes  and  move  with  their  effects  to 
the  hills.  They  returned  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Ohio,  but  abandoned 
the  settlement  because  of  fear  of  the  Virginians  during  the  French  and 
Indian  War." 

South  Portsmouth  is  at  the  junction  with  US  23  (see  Tour  1). 

Between  South  Portsmouth  and  Vanceburg  the  road  crawls  along  at 
the  foot  of  the  Kentucky  hills,  usually  not  far  from  the  river  and  the 
railroad.  Sometimes  the  river  is  lost  beneath  an  intervening  terrace, 
but  it  always  comes  in  sight  again,  its  muddy  waters  spreading  toward 
the  Ohio  shore.  For  most  of  the  distance  the  traveler  sees  more  of  Ohio 
than  of  Kentucky,  because  the  Kentucky  hills  crowd  the  road. 

In  the  summer,  back  from  the  river  a  short  distance,  the  wild  straw- 
berry shines  like  red  tufts  on  a  new  green  carpet;  the  wild  blackberry 
grows  in  great,  thorny  tangles;  the  pawpaw  is  plentiful  in  hillside 
thickets;  and  the  persimmon  bears  fruit  for  the  coon  and  'possum, 
which  boys  hunt  at  night. 

The  road  passes  houses  scattered  in  the  hills  and  "hollers"  and  along 
the  railroad  tracks.  The  farms  are  ravined  and  water-cut,  and  the  farm- 
yards littered  with  discarded  objects  for  which  the  farmer  still  hopes  to 
find  some  use.  A  few  scraggly  cornfields  labor  up  the  slopes. 

The  people  back  in  the  hills  here  still  prefer  the  square  dance,  play 
the  fiddle,  and  sing  songs  such  as: 

There  was  an  old  nig  in  Kentuck  brake, 
He  made  the  woods  all  'round  him  shake, 
And  this  was  the  song  he  used  for  to  sing, 
'Ree,  raw,  my  Dinah  gal, 
Can't  you  git  along,  my  darlin'? 


TOUR    II  331 

The  highway  closely  follows  the  trail  taken  by  Mary  Inglis  in  her 
escape  from  Indians  in  1756.  During  that  year  a  war  party  of  Mingos 
living  on  the  north  side  of  the  Kanawha  attacked  a  settlement  within 
the  present  limits  of  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia.  Mrs.  Inglis,  two 
of  her  children,  and  a  sister-in-law  were  captured  and  taken  to  the 
Mingo  villages.  Her  children  were  taken  away,  and  her  sister-in-law 
was  forced  to  run  the  gauntlet,  but  Mrs.  Inglis,  because  of  her  skill  in 
cooking,  won  the  respectful  interest  of  the  natives.  When  a  band  of  the 
Indians  set  out  for  Big  Bone  Lick  (see  Tour  12)  to  make  salt,  they 
took  with  them  Mrs.  Inglis  and  an  old  Dutch  woman — also  a  prisoner — 
who  thus  became  the  first  white  women  to  step  into  what  is  now  the 
State  of  Kentucky. 

At  Big  Bone  Lick,  the  two  women  escaped  from  the  Indians,  traveled 
through  what  is  now  Kenton  County  to  the  southern  shore  of  the  Ohio, 
and  finally  reached  Big  Sandy  River.  They  crossed  this  stream  on  a 
floating  log  and  continued  up  the  Ohio  until  they  reached  the  Kanawha, 
which  they  followed  toward  Mrs.  Inglis'  home  in  the  mountains.  Be- 
fore reaching  civilization,  the  Dutch  woman,  crazed  by  her  privations, 
attempted  to  kill  Mrs.  Inglis,  who  swam  the  Kanawha  and  escaped. 
Finally,  after  40  days  of  wilderness  travel,  Mrs.  Inglis  reached  her 
friends  in  the  frontier  settlement. 

At  19  m.  the  road  leaves  the  river  and  cuts  into  the  hills.  The  scene 
changes  swiftly;  tall  hills  rise  suddenly  with  great  topsy-turvy  stretches 
of  slope  etched  haphazardly  by  trees  and  hillside  fences.  Then  again 
the  route  comes  out  to  the  river,  affording  a  sweeping  view  up  and  down 
stream. 

VANCEBURG,  22.4  m.  (523  alt.,  1,388  pop.),  stretches  finger-like 
along  the  river  beneath  a  barrier  of  steep  hills.  The  town  presses 
tightly  against  the  road,  which  passes  rickety  frame  houses,  then  more 
substantial  dwellings  before  reaching  a  compact  business  section  along 
one  side  of  which  is  a  line  of  similar  two-story  brick  buildings  connected 
with  the  curb  by  a  porch  roof  supported  by  hitching  posts.  Old  wooden 
signs,  nearly  all  white  lettered  on  black,  announce  the  wares — hard- 
ware, furniture,  dry  goods,  clothing,  shoes,  groceries.  The  store  selling 
sodas,  powders,  and  patent  medicine  has  no  sign.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  street  are  a  bank;  the  office  of  the  county  agricultural  agent, 
with  a  dentist's  office  above;  a  barber  shop;  a  feed,  grain,  and  farm 
tools  establishment;  a  garage;  a  restaurant;  and  a  poolroom.  Just 
across  the  rail  tracks  is  a  hotel.  Here  in  a  capsule  is  the  economic 
center  of  the  average  small  Kentucky  town,  in  an  area  small  enough  to 
be  photographed  in  a  single  picture. 

Vanceburg  was  a  port  of  entry  in  pioneer  days  for  hunters  from  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  East  who  came  down  the  Ohio  in  search  of  game  in 
the  wild  hills  and  well- watered  valleys  to  the  south.  Later,  as  the 
packets  plied  the  Ohio  River,  Vanceburg  started  to  take  on  the  propor- 
tions of  a  town.  Since  it  was  never  an  important  steamboat  stop,  the 
community  saw  a  good  deal  more  of  the  sad  aspects  of  river  life  than 


332  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

of  the  gay.  For  example,  on  June  2,  1832,  it  saw  the  paddlewheeler 
Hornet,  captained  by  a  man  named  Sullivan,  struck  broadside  by  a 
southwest  gale.  When  it  capsized,  20  passengers  drowned.  The  over- 
turned boat  was  pulled  ashore  by  the  Guyandotte.  - 

Vanceburg  took  on  life  in  1865,  when  a  legislative  act  made  it  the 
seat  of  Lewis  County  and  lawyers,  adventurers,  and  business  opportu- 
nists arrived. 

Left  from  Vanceburg,  on  State  59,  a  graveled  road,  to  KINNICONNICK  (fur- 
nished camps,  $10  per  week),  6  m.,  where  there  is  excellent  fishing,  swimming,  and 
boating.  Kinniconnick  Creek,  whose  clear  waters  are  well  stocked  with  bass,  winds 
for  many  miles  past  old  mill  sites  and  through  quiet  green  valleys. 

At  Vanceburg,  the  road  cuts  back  into  the  hills  again,  to  ride  the 
ridges,  coast  down  into  hollows,  and  make  whiplash  turns;  when  snow 
and  ice  cover  it  in  winter,  the  road  is  as  dangerous  as  a  toboggan  slide. 
Small,  unpainted  houses  are  visible  on  the  hills  and  in  the  valley 
notches,  and  here  and  there  a  high  catwalk  over  a  creek  gives  access  to 
a  remote  farmhouse.  The  soil  is  fairly  good  for  pasturage,  and  mul- 
tiple hay  stacks,  nosed  by  cattle  and  sheep,  squat  in  the  fields. 

HUNTER  HOUSE,  25  m.,  a  small  log  structure  now  weatherboarded, 
was  built  by  W.  B.  Parker  for  use  on  his  annual  hunting  expeditions  in 
the  early  nineteenth  century. 

Tips  of  far-off  hills  make  a  hedgerow  on  the  horizon  as  the  route 
twists  through  several  villages  bent  by  the  road.  The  complete  lack  of 
filling  stations  and  roadside  advertisements  is  conspicuous. 

At  36.8  m.  is  CABIN  CREEK,  spanned  by  an  old  covered  bridge. 
From  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  marauding  Indians  once  forded  across  the 
Ohio  River.  Leading  out  from  the  creek  mouth  to  the  Upper  Blue 
Licks  were  a  lower  war  road  and  an  upper  war  road,  along  which  the 
trees  were  marked  with  crude  drawings  of  wild  animals,  the  sun,  and 
the  moon. 

MAYSVILLE,  52.1  m.  (448  alt.,  6,557  pop.)  (see  Tour  15),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15)  and  US  62  (see  Tour  14). 

Above  Maysville,  State  10  rises  to  a  point  offering  a  fine  view  of  the 
river,  its  boats,  the  lanky  new  steel  bridge  connecting  Maysville  with 
Aberdeen,  Ohio,  and  flat  bottomland  along  the  Ohio  shore.  Most  of  the 
Ohio  River  is  under  Kentucky  jurisdiction.  When  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory was  carved  out  by  the  United  States,  the  low-water  mark  was  its 
southern  limit.  After  Kentucky  and  West  Virginia  were  split  from  Vir- 
ginia, the  Ohio  River  bordering  Kentucky  was  included  in  its  territory. 

This  stretch  of  the  river  was  at  one  time  crowded  with  river  craft 
(see  Tour  12).  In  those  days  a  river  steamer  was  a  floating  palace, 
glistening  with  white  paint  and  gilding.  It  had  thick  carpets,  tiny  white 
beds,  glittering  chandeliers,  fine  music,  and  an  elegant  table,  set  with 
all  the  delicacies  of  the  season  in  lavish  profusion.  Eating  went  on  all 
day.  At  the  bar,  mint  juleps  and  planters'  punch  were  mixed  by  wiz- 
ards with  shiny  black  faces  and  white  aprons.  Always  lolling  near  by 
was  the  cardsharp. 


TOUR  ii  333 

Defective  boilers  and  a  mania  for  speed  often  ripped  open  the  boat 
hulls,  set  them  afire,  and  took  many  lives.  The  races  between  the 
Handy  and  the  Phaeton  led  up  to  such  calamity.  On  June  28,  1881,  as 
both  boats  were  running  side  by  side  for  Brook's  Bar  near  the  Mays- 
ville  bend  of  the  river,  the  boiler  of  the  Phaeton  blew  up,  tore  off  the 
pilot  house  and  smokestacks  of  the  Handy,  threw  the  pilot  onto  the 
Ohio  shore,  and  killed  several  deckhands.  A  few  years  later  one  of  the 
through  mail  packets,  the  Bostonia,  took  fire  while  discharging  cargo  at 
the  Maysville  wharf.  Its  cargo  of  cattle  stampeded.  Cut  loose,  the 
boat  drifted  to  a  near-by  bank  and  burned  to  the  water's  edge.  These 
mishaps  sometimes  had  comic  relief.  Some  panicky  passengers  even 
took  life-belts  to  bed  with  them.  After  a  false  alarm  one  buxom  lady 
in  a  white  nightgown  constrained  by  a  deflated  belt,  burst  breathlessly 
from  the  ladies'  cabin.  "Blow  me  up,"  she  shrieked.  "For  God's  sake, 
won't  somebody  blow  me  up!" 

At  56.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  8,  a  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  MINERVA  (127  pop.).  In  an  old  cemetery  here  is  the 
GRAVE  OF  LEWIS  CRAIG  (1737-1825),  pioneer  Baptist  minister,  who  brought  the 
Traveling  Church  from  Spotsylvania  County,  Virginia,  to  Kentucky  in  1781  (see 
Tour  3).  The  BRACKEN  CHURCH  at  Minerva  was  built  by  Craig,  who  was  a 
stonemason  as  well  as  a  preacher.  Craig  was  the  pastor  of  this  church  from  1793 
through  1807. 

The  FRAZEE  HOUSE  (open  on  request),  64.8  m.,  is  a  one-and-a-half 
story  gray-painted  brick  house  (R)  with  outside  chimneys  and  a  long 
veranda  built  in  1795  by  Samuel  Frazee,  Indian  fighter  and  scout  under 
Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark.  The  land  upon  which  the  building  stands 
was  said  to  have  been  bought  from  the  Indians  for  several  hundred 
bushels  of  salt. 

GERMANTOWN,  65.2  m.  (490  alt.,  283  pop.),  is  a  sizable  town 
drawn  out  along  several  sharp  turns  in  the  highway.  It  was  laid  out 
by  Whitfield  Craig  in  1784,  called  Buchanan  Station,  and  later  settled 
by  Pennsylvania  Germans.  The  Germantown  Fair  and  Horse  Show 
has  been  held  annually  since  1854  during  the  last  week  in  August. 
Livestock,  horses,  poultry,  and  many  kinds  of  farm  products  and  handi- 
crafts are  exhibited,  and  prizes  awarded  to  the  winners. 

Between  Germantown  and  Brooksville  the  road  runs  through  open 
hilly  terrain  punctuated  by  tree  clumps.  Most  of  this  is  pasture  land, 
but  a  few  frugal  fields  of  tobacco  vary  the  monotony  of  the  agricul- 
tural pattern. 

BROOKSVILLE,  72  m.  (925  alt.,  615  pop.),  seat  of  Bracken  County 
since  1832,  centers  about  a  small  row  of  shops  with  hitching  post 
porches,  a  larger  row  strung  along  a  sidewalk  several  feet  high,  and  a 
huge  open  space  on  which  stands  the  yellow  brick  courthouse  with  its 
clock  tower.  The  region  about  Brooksville,  first  known  as  Woodward's 
Crossroad,  chiefly  produces  burley  tobacco. 

Right  from  Brooksville  on  State  19,  a  paved  road,  to  AUGUSTA,  9.5  m.  (444 
alt.,  1,675  pop.),  beautifully  situated  on  a  high  bank  of  the  Ohio  River.  It  has  an 


334  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

excellent  harbor  and  is  an  important  shipping  point  for  tobacco.  Augusta  College, 
one  of  the  first  Methodist  schools,  was  here  as  early  as  1799.  When  the  large 
forest  trees  were  cleared  for  the  village  site  in  1792,  numerous  skeletons  and  arti- 
facts were  found,  indicating  that  this  was  a  prehistoric  burial  ground. 

During  the  War  between  the  States,  Augusta  was  the  scene  of  a  battle  between 
Morgan's  cavalry,  led  by  Gen.  Basil  W.  Duke,  and  Federal  Home  Guards  under 
Col.  Joshua  T.  Bradford.  Many  of  the  Home  Guards  were  Southern  sympathizers 
who  had  been  impressed  for  service  by  Colonel  Bradford.  Since  the  Home  Guards 
were  using  the  brick  houses  of  the  town  as  garrisons,  the  fighting  took  place  in  the 
streets.  General  Duke  had  to  burn  many  of  the  buildings  to  dislodge  the  Federal 
troops,  who  finally  surrendered.  Two  gunboats  had  been  stationed  at  the  landing 
for  the  protection  of  the  town,  but  as  soon  as  General  Duke's  guns  were  turned 
on  them,  they  steamed  off  upriver.  This  was  a  Pyrrhic  victory  for  Duke:  the 
heavy  loss  in  officers  and  men  defeated  his  original  purpose — to  ford  the  Ohio 
River  below  Augusta  and  march  toward  Cincinnati. 

POWERSVILLE,  75.4  m.  (103  pop.),  a  mere  sprinkling  of  houses, 
was  settled  about  1783  by  Capt.  Philip  Buckner,  soldier  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  The  GRAVE  OF  CAPTAIN  BUCKNER,  near  the  western 
limits  of  the  town,  has  been  enclosed  with  an  iron  fence. 

At  WILLOW,  76.1  m.  (500  alt.,  12  pop.),  is  a  junction  with  State  22 
(see  Tour  13). 

The  route  wanders  about  among  hills  that  fall  into  gullies;  the  land 
stretches  away  in  endless  wrinkles  to  a  far  horizon. 

As  the  highway  goes  north,  it  touches  the  outer  Bluegrass,  and  at 
105.5  m.  leads  down  between  hills  flanked  everywhere  by  spare,  softly 
molded  hills  with  long  slopes.  Clumps  of  trees  decorate  a  landscape 
green  in  summer,  bleak  and  brown  in  winter. 

ALEXANDRIA,  109.7  m.  (513  alt.,  424  pop.)  (see  Tour  3),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 


Tour  12 


(Cincinnati,  Ohio) — Covington — Warsaw — Carrollton — Louisville;   US 
42.    Ohio  Line  to  Louisville,  106.9  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

Accommodations  of  all  kinds  available ;  hotels  chiefly  in  cities. 

US  42,  the  down-river  route  between  Cincinnati  and  Louisville, 
swings  cross-country  at  Covington  and  does  not  meet  the  Ohio  River 
again  until  Warsaw  is  neared.  In  most  places  between  this  point  and 
a  short  distance  beyond  Carrollton,  highway  and  river  run  side  by  side 
accompanied  by  the  rolling  Kentucky  hills  with  their  masses  of  foliage 
and,  across  the  river,  by  the  low  bottomlands  and  low  hills  of  Indiana. 


TOUR    12  335 

The  route  once  more  strays  away  from  the  river,  though  closely  parallels 
it  all  the  way  to  Louisville. 

Numerous  villages  and  a  few  small  county  seats  lie  along  the  route. 
But  pastures,  corn  fields,  patches  of  tobacco,  livestock,  and  grass-  or 
tree-covered  hills  are  seen  more  frequently. 

US  42  and  US  25  (see  Ohio  Tours  16  and  22)  are  united  as  they  cross 
the  Ohio  Line,  0  m.,  at  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio  River,  by  way  of  the 
Suspension  Bridge  (toll  15$). 

COVINGTON,  0.5  m.  (513  alt.,  65,252  pop.)  (see  Covington). 

Points  of  Interest:  Carneal  House,  Monte  Casino,  Devou  Park,  Birthplace  of 
Frank  Duveneck,  Latonia  Race  Track,  and  others. 

Covington  is  at  the  junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4). 

Between  Covington  and  FLORENCE,  9.8  m.  (935  alt.,  450  pop.), 
US  42  is  united  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4). 

The  highway  crosses  a  countryside  with  low,  sloping  hills  tumbling 
back  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  Cornfields  alternate  with  clumps  of 
elms,  maples,  and  oaks. 

At  20.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  BIG  BONE  LICK,  3  m.  (20  pop.),  whose  few  scattered 
houses,  a  church,  a  deserted  hotel,  and  a  somewhat  bedraggled  lake  in  a  100-acre 
valley,  is  one  of  the  Nation's  outstanding  prehistoric  boneyards.  Long  ago  the 
sulphur  springs  and  salt  formations  of  this  valley  attracted  hordes  of  mastodons 
and  other  gigantic  mammals.  Many  of  them  mired  in  the  soft  soil  of  this  area, 
or  died  otherwise,  and  their  bones  were  preserved  through  millenniums.  Later, 
Indians  from  as  far  north  as  Lake  Erie  came  here  to  kill  the  deer,  buffalo,  and 
other  game  that  habitually  visited  the  lick  in  large  numbers;  the  place  was  appar- 
ently a  neutral  hunting  ground  for  many  tribes,  as  no  relics  of  Indian  battles  have 
ever  been  found  here.  In  1739  the  French-Canadian  explorer,  Charles  de  Langueil, 
arrived  at  the  lick,  probably  led  by  Indian  guides.  Celeron  de  Blainville  is  thought 
to  have  stopped  here  in  1749,  while  engaged  in  his  mission  of  burying  lead  plates 
at  various  points  along  the  Ohio  River,  claiming  the  Ohio  Valley  for  France.  It 
was  from  Big  Bone  Lick  that  Mary  Inglis  and  an  old  Dutch  woman  made  their 
successful  escape  from  the  Indians  in  1756  (see  Tour  11).  When  Col.  George 
Croghan  made  a  trip  here  in  1765,  he  wrote  in  his  Journal  of  the  large  quantities 
of  bones  scattered  about  the  springs.  James  Douglas,  a  Virginian,  who  visited  here 
with  a  party  in  1773,  found  the  valley  covered  with  the  bones  of  huge  animals, 
some  of  them  half  buried  in  the  bog,  others  lying  in  a  heap  where  they  had  fallen. 
The  visitors  used  mastodon  ribs  for  tent  poles,  and  vertebrae  for  seats.  When 
they  left  they  carried  with  them  mastodon  teeth  weighing  10  pounds  each,  tusks  11 
feet  long,  and  four-  and  five-foot  thigh  bones. 

As  the  fame  of  the  great  bones  spread,  more  and  more  expeditions  came  here 
to  collect  them.  In  1805  Thomas  Jefferson,  as  an  official  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  had  a  party  gather  one  of  the  most  complete  collections  ever 
taken  from  the  lick  (an  ignorant  servant  later  caused  the  entire  collection  to  be 
ground  into  fertilizer).  A  Dr.  William  Goforth  of  Cincinnati,  at  his  own  expense, 
dug  up  a  number  of  notable  specimens,  among  them  the  bones  of  an  enormous 
three-toed  sloth.  In  1840  it  was  estimated  that  the  bones  of  100  mastodons,  20 
Arctic  elephants,  and  numerous  other  mammals  had  been  removed.  Specimens 
were  still  plentiful  two  years  later  when  the  English  geologist,  Lyell,  came  here; 
but  the  hunt  for  bones  went  on  until  they  were  all  gone.  Museums  in  Europe 
and  America  now  exhibit  some  of  Big  Bone's  ancient  visitors. 

In  the  period  preceding  the  War  between  the  States,  Big  Bone  Lick  became  a 


336  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

fashionable  watering  place  for  young  ladies  who  had  gone  into  "declines"  and  for 
men  and  women  who  ate  too  much  and  exercised  too  little.  A  hotel  was  built  to 
accommodate  those  who  came  here  to  drink  sulphur  water.  Other  fads  and  more 
fashionable  resorts  caused  the  local  spa  to  disappear;  the  abandoned  hotel  is  its 
only  relic  today. 

US  42  now  runs  a  course  between  high  hills  whose  long  slopes  have 
cornfields  staggering  up  to  their  tops.  Here  and  there  phalanxes  of 
young,  slim  trees  march  down  from  the  hillcrest  to  the  road.  For  a 
mile  the  route  crosses  the  top  of  the  plateau,  then  sinks  down  between 
the  hills  once  more.  At  30.6  m.  the  road  moves  to  the  bank  of  the  Ohio 
River,  which  makes  a  big  bend  at  this  point.  The  Kentucky  hills  bare 
occasional  rock  outcroppings  above  the  highway.  With  a  few  brief  in- 
terruptions, road  and  river  move  side  by  side,  paced  by  low,  broad  bot- 
tomlands on  the  Indiana  side  that  run  back  to  a  continuous  chain  of 
far  hills. 

WARSAW,  35.6  m.  (459  alt.,  800  pop.),  on  a  level  terrace  overlook- 
ing the  Ohio  River,  was  once  a  prominent  river  port.  A  little  coal  is 
brought  here  by  boats,  and  a  side-wheel  ferry  makes  cross-river  trips  to 
the  Indiana  shore;  but  the  Warsaw  of  today  depends  upon  its  position 
as  a  trading  center  and  county  seat  for  its  life.  The  town  boasts  that 
poverty  is  unknown  in  it  and  that  its  county  jail  is  seldom  occupied. 
The  JAIL  (L),  on  the  second  floor  of  a  small  brick  building,  with  thick 
vertical  bars  of  stone  across  the  front,  is  sufficiently  forbidding  to  dis- 
courage the  most  obstinate  wrong-doers. 

In  the  center  of  the  public  square  is  the  dun-colored,  two-story  GAL- 
LATIN  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  erected  in  1838,  with  a  bell  tower.  It  was 
remodeled  in  1938-39.  PAYNE  MANOR,  at  the  western  end  of  town 
(R),  overlooking  the  river,  is  a  brick  Greek  Revival  structure  of  two 
stories,  painted  white,  that  was  built  in  1850  by  the  son  of  Gen.  John 
Payne,  an  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  Four  Corinthian  columns 
ornament  the  small  portico,  and  a  balcony  is  below  the  front  upper 
story  windows.  In  the  hall  hangs  a  painting  of  the  steamer,  Jacob 
S trader,  which  plied  the  Ohio  in  the  fifties. 

Warsaw  is  at  the  junction  with  State  35  (see  Tour  5). 

At  36.1  m.  is  (L)  an  EMERGENCY  LANDING  FIELD  for  airplanes.  The 
broad,  level  grass  plot  runs  back  from  the  road  to  the  rim  of  hills. 

Between  Warsaw  and  Carrollton  US  42  twists  and  turns  with  the 
Ohio,  sometimes  dipping  out  of  sight  of  it  for  a  brief  period;  the  hills 
are  always  near. 

The  towns  along  the  way — Warsaw,  Ghent,  and  Carrollton — are 
called  river  towns  because  they  once  depended  on  the  Ohio  for  their 
existence.  Today  steamers  and  barges  loaded  with  steel,  sand,  or  stone 
pass  them  but  do  not  stop;  dredges  sometimes  pause  to  clean  the  river 
channel  of  its  silt  and  debris,  then  move  on ;  even  the  shanty  boats  make 
a  brief  stay.  Main  St.  is  now  the  paved  highway  back  from  the  river 
front  several  blocks,  and  only  some  old  houses  along  Front  or  River 
St.  remain  to  show  the  once-intimate  relationship  of  town  and  river. 


TOUR  12  337 

These  old  houses,  or  their  predecessors  along  the  banks,  saw  the  pag- 
eantry of  river  traffic  in  all  its  mutations:  the  canoe  used  by  the  In- 
dians, trappers,  and  explorers;  the  flatboat  or  Kentucky  "broadhorn," 
carrier  of  cargo  and  settlers  downriver  for  fifty  years;  the  keel-boat  that 
could  go  up-stream  as  well  as  down;  after  1811  the  steamboat,  which 
became  more  magnificent  with  each  new  decade.  Individual  steamers 
acquired  distinct  personalities  up-river  and  down,  based  on  their  speed, 
showiness,  captain,  crew,  cuisine,  musicians,  the  splendor  of  the  ball- 
room, and  the  gaiety  of  the  entertainment.  There  were  also  floating 
stores,  stocked  with  groceries,  dry  goods,  and  endless  bric-a-brac,  tieing 
up  at  cobblestoned  levees  to  be  met  by  a  bevy  of  excited  women.  And 
by  the  river  bank  was  the  wharf  boat,  which  served  as  a  wharf,  freight 
house,  exchange,  and  gathering  place  for  the  lusty  roustabouts.  When 
the  showboats  came,  life  along  the  river  reached  its  height. 

Before  the  railroads  finally  took  over  the  river's  commerce,  towns  like 
Warsaw,  Ghent,  and  Carrollton  each  had  landing  places,  warehouses, 
creaking  drays,  odorous  drinking  taverns.  All  the  river  towns  received 
their  foodstuffs,  clothing,  furniture,  raw  materials,  from  the  boats,  and 
by  them  shipped  out  their  farm  and  garden  produce,  livestock,  lumber, 
and  whatever  products  they  manufactured.  They  became  so  identified 
with  the  river  that  they  took  on  some  of  the  color  and  light-heartedness 
characteristic  of  the  rough  men  who  manned  the  boats  and  rousted  the 
freight.  A  small  cannon  was  fired  when  a  steamer,  often  racing  with 
another  boat  beside  it,  was  approaching  a  town.  On  his  deck  would  be 
the  captain,  preening  himself  in  a  fancy  suit.  In  half-an-hour  or  an 
hour  the  freight  would  be  taken  care  of  and  the  boat  would  be  off,  hell- 
bent for  the  next  stopping  place.  Not  until  their  boat  put  up  some- 
where could  the  rivermen  resume  their  boasting,  their  drinking  of 
whisky  that  was  like  greased  lightning,  and  settle  old  scores  with  wres- 
tling and  gouging  matches. 

Mike  Fink  was  one  of  them.  "I  can  hit  like  fourth-proof  lightnin' 
an'  every  lick  I  make  in  the  woods  lets  in  an  acre  o'  sunshine.  I  can 
out-run,  out-jump,  out-shoot,  out-brag,  out-drink,  an'  out-fight — rough- 
an'-tumble;  no  holts  barred — ary  man  on  both  sides  the  river  from 
Pittsburgh  to  New  Orleans  an'  back  ag'in  to  St.  Louie,"  Mike  said. 
The  river  encouraged  boasting.  Every  boatman  liked  to  think  that  his 
was  the  fastest  boat,  under  the  finest  captain,  manned  by  the  best  crew. 
The  boats  were  so  light  in  draft  that,  as  one  captain  said,  "we  can  pass 
over  a  heavy  mountain  dew."  The  shallowness  of  the  river  in  places 
was  the  reason. 

GHENT,  44.9  m.  (389  pop.),  lies  below  a  rim  of  hills  on  a  small 
plain  looking  down  at  the  river.  Its  houses  reflect  its  age  and  settled 
ways  of  life.  Ghent  was  founded  in  1809  by  13  families  from  the  Rap- 
pahannock  River  region  of  Virginia,  and  named  in  1814  by  Henry  Clay 
for  the  Belgian  city  where  the  peace  treaty  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  was  signed. 


338  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

The  BAPTIST  CHURCH  (L),  erected  in  1843,  is  the  fifth  church  the 
congregation  has  had  since  its  organization  in  1800  as  a  result  of  the 
great  revival  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River.  The  red  brick,  story- 
and-a-half  structure  is  Greek  Revival  in  style  and  has  curved  brick 
columns  on  its  portico.  When  subscriptions  were  being  taken  to  erect 
the  present  church,  the  donations  included  sheepskins,  bags  of  wool, 
bales  of  hay,  and  several  barrels  of  whisky.  It  is  said  that  in  the  early 
years  of  the  church,  whenever  the  preacher  "went  for  dinner,"  the 
whisky  bottle  was  always  set  on  the  table.  The  FOURTH  BAPTIST 
CHURCH,  now  a  residence,  is  on  Sanders  Pike  (L),  opposite  the  ceme- 
tery. It  is  a  small  story-and-a-half  brick  structure,  painted  white. 

John  Taylor  who  attended  the  revival  meeting  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kentucky  River  was  constrained  to  write: 

"From  the  dull  feelings  of  my  heart,  I  took  the  text  which  suited 
my  own  state — 'Lord,  help  me."  I  continued  but  a  short  time,  for  I 
felt  myself  very  worthless.  After  which  they  continued  on,  in  prayer, 
praise,  and  exhortation,  with  much  noise,  at  times,  till  late  at  night. 
Some  were  rejoicing,  having  lately  obtained  deliverance;  others  groan- 
ing in  tears,  under  a  pensive  load  of  guilt.  My  own  heart  was  so  barren 
and  hard,  that  I  wished  myself  out  of  sight,  or  lying  under  the  seats 
where  the  people  sat,  or  trodden  under  their  feet.  Many  of  the  people 
tarried  all  night." 

At  the  western  limits  of  the  village  is  (L)  a  three-story  brick  building 
with  tall,  narrow  windows,  the  FORMER  GHENT  COLLEGE,  once  a  well- 
known  institution.  An  elementary  school  is  here  now. 

RIVERVIEW  (L),  48.6  m.,  is  a  two-story  Greek  Revival  house  over- 
looking the  river  from  a  hill.  Built  in  1805  from  brick  burned  on  the 
place,  the  handsome  white  structure  has  Ionic  columns  in  front  of  its 
small  recessed  portico. 

In  1781,  when  Benjamin  Craig  I  came  from  Virginia  with  his 
brother  Lewis  and  members  of  the  congregation  who  formed  the  Trav- 
eling Baptist  Church  (see  Tour  3),  he  brought  with  him  his  wife  and 
three  small  children.  In  the  journey  across  the  mountains  some  of  the 
men  usually  traveled  ahead  to  clear  the  trail  and  scout  for  Indians. 
The  older  children  drove  the  cattle  and  tried  to  prevent  them  from 
straying  off  the  trail.  Next  came  the  women  on  horseback;  the  chil- 
dren and  bedding  were  strapped  with  willows  in  panniers  on  the  sides 
of  the  horses. 

One  morning  Mrs.  Craig  laid  the  baby  on  a  bed  of  leaves  while  help- 
ing to  make  ready  for  the  day's  journey.  After  she  had  mounted  her 
horse,  her  four-year-old  daughter  asked  if  the  baby  might  ride  in  the 
basket  with  her.  This  the  mother  granted  and  went  on  her  way.  After 
an  hour's  journey  through  the  forest,  Mrs.  Craig  looked  back  and  saw 
only  two  children  in  the  panniers.  She  quickly  gave  the  alarm,  and  the 
baby's  father  with  several  of  the  men  hurriedly  rode  back  in  search  of 
the  baby.  After  several  hours,  the  child  was  found  sleeping  on  the  bed 
of  leaves.  This  child  was  Benjamin  Craig  II,  for  whom  Riverview  was 
built. 


TOUR   12  339 

The  GEORGE  CRAIG  HOUSE,  directly  across  the  Ohio  River  in  Indiana, 
and  plainly  visible  from  the  highway,  was  built  in  1807  by  the  brother 
of  Benjamin  Craig  II. 

At  51.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  227  (see  Tour  12 A). 

CARROLLTON,  52.6  m.  (484  alt.,  2,409  pop.),  stretching  along  the 
river  bank,  is  a  quiet  old  town  of  tree-shaded  streets  and  old  houses  of 
considerable  charm.  The  town  was  incorporated  in  1794  under  the 
name  of  Port  William.  In  1838  it  was  renamed  in  honor  of  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  Maryland,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. The  town  was  platted  by  Benjamin  Craig  I,  who  donated  the 
land  upon  which  the  courthouse  was  built.  The  tiny  stone  CARROLLTON 
JAIL  (R),  with  a  high  iron  fence  around  it  and  vertical  stone  bars  across 
its  front,  looks  like  something  out  of  Dumas. 

High  on  a  slope  (R)  overlooking  Highland  Ave.  (US  42)  is  the 
BUTLER  HOUSE,  a  one-story  Georgian  Colonial  structure  of  brown  brick 
with  a  foundation  of  Kentucky  marble.  Front  and  side  entrances  have 
gracious  fanlighted  doorways  with  side  lights.  A  large  central  hall  leads 
back  to  a  spacious  library  with  windows  overlooking  a  court  from  which 
there  is  a  fine  view  of  the  river.  The  house  was  built  in  1825  by 
Charles  Stringfellow  for  Maj.  Gen.  William  Orlando  Butler  (see  Tour 
12 A),  who,  with  other  members  of  the  Butler  family,  is  buried  in  the 
Butler  Memorial  State  Park  (see  Tour  12 A). 

On  Highland  Ave.  (L),  standing  close  to  the  sidewalk,  is  the  DAR- 
LING HOUSE,  erected  prior  to  1850.  Pilasters  ornament  the  fagade  of 
this  gray-painted  brick  house. 

The  road  crosses  the  KENTUCKY  RIVER  at  53  m.,  near  its  con- 
fluence with  the  Ohio,  on  a  high-arched  bridge.  An  advertisement  from 
the  Cincinnati  Centinel  of  the  North-West  Territory  tells  of  the  open- 
ing of  business  on  the  Kentucky  River: 

Notice — the  subscriber  informs  the  gentlemen,  merchants,  and  emi- 
grants to  Kentucky,  that  he  will  be  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River 
on  the  first  day  of  February  next,  with  a  sufficient  number  of  boats  to 
transport  all  goods,  etc.,  which  they  may  think  proper  to  entrust  him 
with,  up  the  river.  He  will  also  keep  a  store-house  for  the  reception  of 
any  goods  which  may  be  left  with  him.  Carriage  of  goods  to  Frankfort 
50  cents  per  hundred,  to  Sluke's  warehouse  75  cents,  to  Warwick  100 
cents,  Dick's  River  125  cents. 

Mouth  of  Kentucky,  Jan.  15,  1795.  ELIJAH  CRAIG,  JR. 

At  54.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  36,  a  paved  road. 

Left  on  this  road,  which  follows  the  course  of  the  Ohio  River,  to  the  HOAGLAND 
HOUSE,  6.9  m.,  a  one-story  structure,  Georgian  Colonial  in  style,  erected  in  Hunt- 
er's Bottom  in  1838.  This  time-mellowed  house  contains  many  old  furnishings. 

MILTON,  11  m.  (450  alt.,  347  pop.),  was  established  in  1789  by  the  Virginia 
Legislature,  three  years  before  Kentucky  became  a  State.  Milton  is  opposite  Madi- 
son, Indiana,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  bridge  (toll  20$). 


34O  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Right  from  Milton,  5  m.,  on  Peck's  Pike,  an  unimproved  road,  to  the  PRESTON 
HOUSE,  a  Greek  Revival  structure  built  by  Col.  John  Preston.  This  structure, 
among  fine  old  trees,  faces  the  river;  it  is  of  brick,  later  plastered  and  weather- 
boarded,  and  contains  15  rooms.  A  spiral  stairway  leads  to  the  second  floor.  The 
woodwork  is  embellished  with  a  narrow  stripe  of  gold  leaf, -which  still  glistens  with 
its  former  luster.  On  the  walls  are  the  original  painted  decorations.  The  SMOKE- 
HOUSE, in  the  yard,  is  a  tall  brick  building  with  four  tiers  of  poles,  designed  to  hold 
100  hogs.  In  the  center  of  the  dirt  floor  is  a  pit  where  hickory  logs  were  kept 
burning  until  the  meat  was  satisfactorily  cured.  NORFOLK  SCHOOL,  the  brick  build- 
ing now  a  tenant  house,  was  built  by  Mrs.  Preston  as  a  chapel  and  school. 

Left  from  Milton  on  State  37,  which  becomes  the  main  side  route,  to  LOOKOUT 
POINT  on  MILTON  HILL,  12  m.,  which  affords  a  sweeping  view  of  the  Ohio 
River,  Hunter's  Bottom,  and  of  Madison,  Indiana. 

At  23.2  m.  on  State  37  is  Bedford. 

West  of  Carrollton  US  42  breaks  away  from  the  river  and  winds  be- 
tween high  hills,  close  to  the  highway,  that  are  dotted  with  sparse  clus- 
ters of  trees.  This  is  farming  country  and  cattle  and  sheep  are  seen  on 
hillside  pastures.  The  road  climbs  up  to  a  plateau,  a  rolling  highland 
presenting  spacious  vistas  of  fields,  farmhouses,  and  ravines  with  ever- 
greens. 

BEDFORD,  65.1  m.  (892  alt.,  286  pop.),  seat  of  Trimble  County, 
was  incorporated  in  1816.  The  town  is  surrounded  by  valley  farms 
producing  tobacco,  grain,  and  livestock. 

Bedford  is  at  the  junction  with  State  37. 

Still  crossing  the  plateau  that  reveals  tiers  of  hills  rising  to  a  wide, 
tree-hazed  horizon  (L),  the  highway  makes  a  sweeping  curve  and  passes 
(L)  KENTUCKY  TAVERN,  70.1  m.,  a  long,  low  story-and-a-half  structure 
that  was  an  important  stopping  place  in  stagecoach  days.  Half  frame 
and  half  brick,  the  white  building  has  dormers. 

SLIGO  (10  pop.)  is  met  at  73.8  m.;  then  tourist  cabins  soon  appear 
along  the  way,  some  of  them  of  whitewashed  logs.  The  route  continues 
over  high,  choppy  terrain,  passing  farmsteads,  pastures,  little  log  pig 
pens,  and  clumps  of  oak,  evergreen,  and  sycamore. 

US  42  descends  into  PROSPECT,  93.9  m.  (484  alt.,  30  pop.),  in  the 
Louisville  metropolitan  area.  The  place  was  settled  in  1783  by  people 
from  Virginia.  It  is  said  to  have  received  its  name  about  60  years  ago, 
when  the  narrow  gauge  railroad,  which  was  being  built  along  the  river, 
seemed  a  long  time  in  reaching  the  community. 

Between  Prospect  and  •  Louisville,  a  four-lane  highway  runs  through 
a  well-to-do  metropolitan  area  with  many  new  houses. 

The  TOMB  OF  ZACHARY  TAYLOR,  99.7  m.,  is  in  a  parklike  area  (R), 
once  part  of  the  Taylor  farm  and  now  in  the  custody  of  the  Federal 
Government.  Adjoining  the  park  is  (R)  the  TAYLOR  HOUSE  (private), 
where  the  twelfth  President  of  the  United  States  grew  to  manhood. 
The  two-and-a-half-story  house,  built  of  brick,  is  on  ample  grounds 
extending  along  the  west  side  of  the  TAYLOR  MEMORIAL  CEMETERY, 
where  members  of  the  Taylor  family  are  buried.  A  driveway,  bordered 
with  shrubbery  and  century-old  pine,  maple,  and  walnut  trees,  leads 
around  the  house  to  the  entrance.  Across  the  front  and  sides  of  the 


TOUR    12  341 

building  are  wide  porches,  evidently  later  additions.  Two  paneled 
doors  give  entrance  to  a  wide  central  hall  with  two  rooms  on  each  side. 
A  winding  stairway  leads  to  four  bedrooms  on  the  second  floor.  The 
original  four-inch  ash  flooring  is  still  in  good  condition. 

In  1785  Col.  Richard  Taylor,  a  native  of  Virginia  and  soldier  of  the 
Revolution,  brought  his  family  to  this  place,  where  he  built  a  log  house. 
Several  years  later  the  present  building,  designed  in  Virginia,  was  built 
and  the  log  cabin  was  moved  to  the  rear  to  house  slaves.  This  building, 
painted  white,  still  stands. 

Zachary  Taylor  (1784-1850),  born  in  Virginia,  was  nine  months  old 
when  the  family  came  here.  As  a  boy  he  roamed  the  fields  near  by  and 
hunted  along  Beargrass  Creek.  He  went  to  school  in  a  little  log  school- 
house  near  his  home  before  entering  William  and  Mary  College.  In 
1808  he  was  appointed  a  first  lieutenant  in  the  7th  Regiment  of  the 
United  States  Infantry.  Except  when  he  was  away  on  military  duty 
and  in  the  White  House,  the  farm  here  was  always  his  home.  General 
Taylor's  daughter,  Knoxie,  much  against  her  father's  wishes,  became 
the  wife  of  Jefferson  Davis,  later  President  of  the  Confederacy. 

LOUISVILLE,  106.9  m.  (525  alt.,  307,745  pop.)   (see  Louisville). 

Points  of  Interest:  Speed  Museum,  Memorial  Auditorium,  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Churchill  Downs,  Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  Cherokee  Park,  and 
others. 

Louisville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  3  IE  (see  Tour  6),  US  3iW 
(see  Tour  7),  and  US  60  (see  Tour  16). 


Tour  12A 


Junction  with  US  42 — Butler  Memorial  State  Park — Owenton — Junc- 
tion with  State  40;  61.1  m.  US  227. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

Branch   of   Louisville   &  Nashville  R.R.   parallels   route   between   Carrollton   and 

Worth  ville. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

This  route  runs  between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Bluegrass  region, 
traversing  hilly  farm  lands  and  fertile  green  valleys. 

US  227  branches  southeast  from  its  junction  with  US  42,  0  m.  (see 
Tour  12),  0.5  miles  east  of  Carrollton. 

BUTLER  MEMORIAL  STATE  PARK  (adm.  10$,  boating,  fishing, 
overnight  camping  25$  each;  furnished  cabins,  couple,  $2),  2  m.,  350 
acres  of  hills  and  valleys  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  was  named  for 


342  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

William  Orlando  Butler  (1791-1808).  A  native  of  Carroll  ton,  Butler 
served  as  a  captain  in  the  War  of  1812  and  was  breveted  a  major  for 
distinguished  service  in  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans.  He  later  practiced 
law  at  Carrollton,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, 1817-18,  and  a  Representative  in  Congress  1839-43.  In 
June  1846  he  was  appointed  major  general  of  volunteers  raised  to  sup- 
port General  Taylor  in  his  invasion  of  Mexico.  In  1848  he  succeeded 
General  Scott  in  the  chief  command  of  the  United  States  forces  in 
Mexico.  He  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  Vice  President  of  the 
Democratic  Party  in  1848,  and  in  1855  declined  appointment  as  Gov- 
ernor of  Nebraska  Territory. 

The  work  of  developing  the  park,  begun  in  1934,  has  been  carried  on 
by  the  Civilian  Conservation  Corps.  A  30-acre  lake  has  been  created 
by  construction  of  a  dam  in  the  upper  stretches  of  the  valley.  There 
are  two  lodges  of  stone  for  the  caretakers,  shelter  houses,  cabins,  and 
many  winding  roads  and  trails.  The  majority  of  the  one-  and  two-room 
cabins  are  of  stone;  a  few  are  of  logs  with  stone  chimneys. 

LOOKOUT  POINT,  a  rough  stone  tower  built  in  irregular  terraces,  com- 
mands a  sweeping  view  of  the  Ohio  River.  Within  the  park  is  the 
THOMAS  BUTLER  HOUSE  (adm.  25$),  now  a  museum.  It  is  a  two-and- 
one-half-story  brick  structure  shaded  by  tall  elms  and  surrounded  by 
a  terraced  wall  of  stone.  The  house  was  designed  in  the  Georgian 
Colonial  style  with  wide  central  halls  upstairs  and  down,  flanked  on 
each  side  by  two  large  square  rooms.  A  winding  stairway  leads  to  the 
upper  floor.  The  kitchen  wing  is  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  house 
by  a  dog-trot.  The  house  is  furnished  in  the  style  of  the  1860's.  It 
was  originally  the  home  of  Thomas  L.  Butler  (1789-1879),  the  eldest 
son  of  Percival  Butler,  and  aide  to  General  Jackson  at  the  Battle  of 
New  Orleans. 

In  the  little  BUTLER  CEMETERY  near  the  house  are  the  graves  of 
members  of  the  Butler  family.  Thomas  Butler,  born  in  Kilkenny,  Ire- 
land, April  8,  1720,  had  five  sons,  all  of  whom  attained  eminence  in 
America.  The  five  brothers  and  their  immediate  descendants  saw  mili- 
tary service  in  all  of  the  contemporary  wars  of  this  country.  General 
Lafayette  said  of  the  family,  "When  I  wanted  a  thing  well  done,  I 
ordered  a  Butler  to  do  it."  Among  others  is  the  GRAVE  OF  GEN. 
PERCIVAL  BUTLER,  one  of  the  five  sons  of  Thomas  Butler  and  the  father 
of  William  Orlando  and  of  Thomas  L.  Butler. 

South  of  the  park,  the  road  passes  through  an  undulating,  well- 
watered  region  whose  limestone  soil  is  well  suited  to  stock  raising.  Pas- 
tures with  grazing  sheep  and  cattle  alternate  with  fields  of  tobacco, 
buckwheat,  corn,  and  barley. 

From  the  top  of  the  hill  at  13  m.  is  a  widespreading  view  of  the 
countryside  and  of  the  Kentucky  River  valley. 

NEW  LIBERTY,  19.7  m.  (190  pop.),  once  an  important  trading 
center  for  a  productive  farming  area,  has  been  decreasing  in  population 
for  many  years  because  of  the  impoverishment  of  the  soil  in  the  region. 


TOUR    I2A  343 

The  BAPTIST  CHURCH  (L)  was  established  here  in  1801,  18  years  be- 
fore the  county  was  formed.  The  old  bell  in  the  tower  has  been  in 
constant  use  since  1841. 

At  23.1  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  35  (see  Tour  5) ;  US  227  and 
State  35  are  united  for  7.9  miles. 

OWENTON,  30.4  m.  (1,000  alt.,  975  pop.),  and  Owen  County,  of 
which  it  is  the  seat,  are  named  for  Col.  Abraham  Owen,  an  early  settler 
who  was  prominent  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  killed  in  the  Battle 
of  Tippecanoe.  The  stately  old  OWEN  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  built  of 
brick  in  the  Greek  Revival  style  in  1850,  was  occupied  by  Federal 
troops  during  the  War  between  the  States. 

Owenton  is  at  the  junction  with  State  22  (see  Tour  13)  and  State 
35  (see  Tour  5).  State  35  and  US  227  are  united  for  2.1  miles  south 
of  Owenton. 

1.  Right  from  Owenton  on  an  unmarked  road  to  the  THOMAS  LAKE  FISHING 
CLUB  (open),  2  m.    The  clubhouse,  of  logs  taken  from  another  building,  has  an 
appearance  of  age.     The  lake  and  the  building,  erected  as  a  PWA  project,  are 
municipally  owned. 

2.  Left  from  Owenton  on  an  improved  road  to  LUSBY'S  MILL,   10  m.  (30 
pop.),  on  Eagle  Creek.    A  FISHING  CAMP  (open)  provides  fishing,  swimming,  and 
tennis.     During  the  War  between  the  States  a  recruiting  station  was  established 
at  this  place  by  Gen.  Humprey  Marshall. 

At  31  m.  State  35  (see  Tour  5)  leaves  US  227,  and  at  32.4  m.  State 
22  (see  Tour  13)  leaves  US  227. 

In  BEECHWOOD,  43  m.  (540  alt.,  32  pop.),  are  mineral  springs 
of  asserted  therapeutic  value,  from  which  water  is  bottled  and  shipped. 
The  hotel  that  formerly  stood  on  the  grounds  was  burned  down  several 
years  ago  and  has  never  been  rebuilt. 

STAMPING  GROUND,  55.6  m.  (341  pop.),  was  so  named  because 
the  herds  of  buffalo  that  came  here  for  salt  water,  tramped  or  stamped 
down  the  soil  for  a  great  distance  around  the  lick.  Lindsey's  stockade 
was  built  here  in  1790.  BUFFALO  SPRINGS  (R),  a  new  modern  dis- 
tillery, has  been  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  spring,  again  bringing  pros- 
perity to  the  little  town. 

At  58  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  dirt  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  BLUE  SPRING,  0.5  m.,  named  for  Blue  Spring  Creek,  and 
formerly  the  estate  of  Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson  (1781-1850),  distinguished  states- 
man and  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  Colonel  Johnson  was  a  Representative  in 
Congress  from  1807  to  1819,  United  States  Senator  for  two  terms  beginning  in 
1819,  and  was  elected  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  in  1836.  Blue  Spring 
is  the  SITE  OF  A  CHOCTAW  INDIAN  SCHOOL,  established  by  Johnson  in  1825  and 
operated  by  the  Federal  Government  for  40  years.  Several  of  the  old  buildings 
still  stand. 

GREAT  CROSSINGS,  60.6  m.  (80  pop.),  was  named  for  the  buffalo 
trace  from  the  interior  of  Kentucky  to  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  River 
and  Elkhorn  Creek.  Johnson's  Fort  was  built  here  in  1783  by  Robert 


344  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Johnson,  an  early  Kentucky  statesman.  CROSSINGS  CHURCH  belongs 
to  a  Baptist  congregation  organized  here  May  28,  1785;  this  was  the 
mother  church  from  which  sprang  the  religious  organizations  at  McCon- 
nell's  Run  (later  Stamping  Ground),  Dry  Run,  and  Georgetown. 

At  61.1  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17),  2.6  miles 
west  of  Georgetown. 


Tour  13 


Willow — Falmouth — Owenton — New    Castle — Junction   with   US    60; 
116.4  m.  State  22. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 
Accommodations  limited. 

The  route,  following  roughly  the  base  of  a  triangle,  two  sides  of 
which  are  formed  by  the  Ohio  River,  passes  through  a  rolling-to-hilly 
region  that  frequently  affords  superb  views  of  the  hills  and  river  valleys. 
Tobacco  of  especially  fine  quality  is  produced  in  this  area. 

State  22  branches  west  from  State  10  (see  Tour  11)  at  WILLOW, 
0  m.,  and  at  12.1  m.  passes  the  forks  of  the  Licking  River. 

FALMOUTH,  12.4  m.  (525  alt.,  1,876  pop.)  (see  Tour  3),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 

Between  Falmouth  and  15.5  m.  State  22  and  US  27  are  united. 

WILLIAMSTOWN,  29.3  m.  (943  alt.,  917  pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4). 

Between  Williamstown  and  DRY  RIDGE,  33.2  m.  (929  alt.,  500 
pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  State  22  and  US  25  are  united. 

At  52.3  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  227  (see  Tour  12 A) ;  between 
this  point  and  OWENTON,  54.4  m.  (1,000  alt.,  975  pop.)  (see  Tour 
12 A),  State  22  and  US  227  are  united.  Owenton  is  also  at  the  junction 
with  State  35  (see  Tour  5). 

GRATZ,  63.5  m.  (139  pop.),  a  deserted  river  town  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Kentucky  River,  was  once  a  bustling  and  important  ship- 
ping point.  For  more  than  50  years  steamers  stopped  at  this  landing 
to  load  and  unload  produce  and  receive  passengers  for  Louisville  or 
Cincinnati.  A  SULPHUR  WELL  (R),  near  the  river,  is  1,200  feet  deep. 

Right  from  Gratz  on  a  dirt  road  to  an  old  LEAD  MINE,  1  m.,  which  has  not  been 
worked  for  many  years. 

At  64  m.  on  State  22  is  the  junction  with  State  83,  an  improved 
highway. 


TOUR   13  345 

Right  0.4  m.  on  this  road  to  a  lane  leading  to  CASA  BIANCA  (Ital.,  white  house), 
the  home  of  Adjt.  Gen.  Charles  E.  Marshall,  great-grandson  of  Chief  Justice  John 
Marshall.  The  one-and-a-half -story  house,  of  Greek  Revival  style,  is  on  a  1,000- 
acre  farm  and  commands  a  wide  view  of  the  Kentucky  River  and  adjacent  valleys. 

At  6.8  m.  on  State  83  is  DRENNON  SPRINGS,  7  m.,  in  the  center  of  an 
amphitheater  of  hills.  Indians  and  buffalo  had  worn  paths  from  every  direction 
to  the  lick  many  years  prior  to  July  1773,  when  Jacob  Drennon  and  Matthew 
Bracken,  directed  by  an  old  Delaware  Indian,  reached  this  place.  Drennon  gave 
his  name  to  the  creek  and  the  spring,  but  neither  he  nor  Bracken  ever  attempted 
to  secure  title  to  the  property.  In  1779,  George  Rogers  Clark  obtained  a  deed  to 
a  400-acre  tract  that  included  the  spring.  In  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  salt  was  made  here  in  large  quantities,  but  the  crude,  slow  process  of  boil- 
ing the  water  in  huge  iron  kettles  over  wood  fires  lasted  only  as  long  as  the  price 
of  salt  (20  shillings  a  bushel)  made  the  manufacture  profitable.  The  reputed 
medicinal  quality  of  the  water  began  to  attract  invalids,  and  by  1840  a  popular 
summer  resort,  a  few  crude  log  cabins,  had  been  established;  a  large  hotel  known 
as  the  North  and  South  House  was  later  erected,  with  cottages  adjoining.  The 
resort  was  honored  by  the  attendance  of  13  State  Governors  at  one  notable  social 
function.  In  the  1850's  the  Western  Military  Academy  was  established  here;  James 
G.  Blaine  was  one  of  the  instructors  in  this  school.  During  the  War  between  the 
States  the  buildings  were  used  as  a  recruiting  station  for  the  Federal  Army.  In 
1864  all  of  the  buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire  and  never  replaced. 

West  of  the  Kentucky  River  Valley  the  highway  follows  an  undulat- 
ing upland  plateau. 

At  78.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  146,  an  improved  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  EMINENCE,  2.6  m.  (1,323  pop.),  an  enterprising  town 
known  for  the  registered  breeding  stock  produced  on  neighboring  farms.  Many  of 
the  Hereford  cattle  in  this  country  can  be  traced  to  sires  owned  within  a  few  miles 
of  Eminence.  Beau  Donald,  Perfection,  Prince  Rupert,  Beau  Roland,  Britisher, 
and  Acrobat,  names  familiar  to  stockmen  throughout  America,  were  raised  here, 
and  today  their  progeny  are  being  shipped  to  South  and  Central  America,  Cuba, 
and  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

The  ODD  FELLOWS  AND  DAUGHTERS  OF  REBEKAH  HOUSE,  on  the  outskirts  of  Emi- 
nence, is  a  spacious,  two-story  brick  structure  erected  in  1916.  It  cares  for  the 
aged  and  infirm  members  of  the  two  orders.  The  entrance  to  the  farm  is  through 
a  tree-banked  stone  gateway. 

At  Eminence  is  the  GRAVE  OF  ZACH  F.  SMITH,  educator  and  historian,  born  in 
Henry  County  in  1827.  He  served  as  president  of  Henry  Female  College,  New 
Castle,  and  was  State  superintendent  of  public  instruction  and  curator  of  Transyl- 
vania University  for  50  years. 

Left  from  Eminence  on  State  55,  an  improved  road,  to  the  HAYS  HOUSE,  5  m., 
a  two-story  frame  structure,  erected  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  by  John  F. 
Hagan  for  Squire  Helm.  The  eight-room  house,  designed  in  the  Greek  Revival 
style,  has  hand-carved  woodwork  and  a  paneled  stairway.  The  doors  have  the 
original  brass  knobs  and  locks,  and  the  floors  are  of  white  ash. 

The  POLLARD  HOUSE  (R),  79.4  m.,  erected  about  1790,  is  built  of 
brick  and  is  a  story  and  a  half  high.  The  long  slope  of  its  roof  is 
pierced  by  dormers,  and  in  recent  years  a  front  porch  has  been  added. 
Originally  the  structure  had  two-story  wings,  but  these  have  been  razed 
as  have  the  stone  barns  that  once  stood  behind  the  house.  This  section 
of  State  22  was  once  a  part  of  the  old  Frankfort-Milton  Post  Road, 
and  at  that  time  the  house  with  its  spacious  wings  was  a  tavern. 
James  G.  Blaine  was  a  frequent  guest  here  while  he  taught  at  the 
Western  Military  Academy  (1850-51)  in  Drennon  Springs. 


346  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

On  the  night  of  December  1,  1863,  Pollard,  the  owner,  admitted  two 
strangers  who  appeared  to  be  cattle  buyers.  One  of  the  men  saw  on 
the  table  a  copy  of  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer,  considered  a  "Copperhead" 
publication,  that  bore  headlines  announcing  the  escape  of  Gen.  John  H. 
Morgan  and  other  Confederate  officers  from  the  Ohio  Penitentiary  at 
Columbus.  Pollard's  possession  of  this  paper  revealed  his  sympathy  for 
the  Confederacy  and  prompted  the  younger  of  the  two  guests  to  men- 
tion his  having  heard  that  General  Morgan  and  Captain  Hines  were  on 
their  way  south  through  Kentucky.  "And  you  are  Captain  Hines?" 
Pollard  asked.  Hines  admitted  his  identity  and  introduced  General 
Morgan.  The  two  officers  spent  the  night  there,  and  after  breakfast 
the  following  day,  Pollard  arranged  to  take  them  to  Judge  W.  S.  Pryor 
of  New  Castle  for  assistance. 

NEW  CASTLE,  83.5  m.  (825  alt.,  447  pop.),  is  the  third  oldest  in- 
corporated town  in  the  State.  Many  old  houses  border  the  quiet  streets 
radiating  from  the  public  square. 

Confederate  Gen.  Kirby  Smith  conducted  a  military  school  in  a  house 
here,  still  standing,  built  in  1800.  The  Henry  County  Male  and 
Female  College,  a  popular  school  for  several  decades,  attracted  stu- 
dents from  many  southern  States. 

Near  the  center  of  New  Castle  is  the  THOMAS  SMITH  HOUSE  (L),  a 
two-story  structure  of  red  brick.  Designed  in  the  Georgian  Colonial 
style,  it  has  a  fanlighted  doorway  and  a  wide  entrance  hall  with  a 
winding  stairway  of  cherry.  All  of  the  woodwork  is  hand-carved,  and 
the  walls  of  the  hall  are  decorated  with  murals.  The  house  was  built 
in  1818  by  Thomas  Smith,  who  made  his  money  in  Henry  County  in 
the  produce  business.  Smith  is  said  to  have  owned  40  percent  of  all 
the  land  in  Henry  and  Shelby  Counties  and  was  one  of  the  builders  of 
the  Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  in  1830-35.  When  he  died  in  1850,  at 
the  age  of  51  years,  he  left  an  estate  valued  at  more  than  a  million 
dollars. 

The  PRYOR  HOUSE,  a  two-story  brick  building,  is  Georgian  Colonial 
in  style.  Its  interior  trim  of  cherry  and  white  pine  is  elaborately 
carved.  Ornate  plasterwork  lends  much  to  the  charm  of  the  first  floor 
rooms,  which  are  high,  with  10-foot  doors.  Judge  W.  S.  Pryor,  who 
built  this  house  in  1859  and  lived  in  it  until  his  death  in  1914,  was  an 
ardent  Confederate.  During  the  War  between  the  States  the  Union 
soldiers  who  came  to  New  Castle  to  buy  cattle  and  hogs  and  stayed 
overnight  in  the  town's  hotel  were  invariably  tormented  or  frightened 
by  the  pranks  of  Judge  Pryor 's  slaves,  acting  under  his  instructions. 
Pryor,  made  chief  justice  of  the  Kentucky  Court  of  Appeals  on  Sep- 
tember 6,  1871,  was  the  first  Confederate  named  to  the  court  after 
the  War  between  the  States. 

On  Main  St.,  standing  flush  with  the  sidewalk,  is  an  old  gray  brick 
house  (R)  known  as  BUCKLEY  TAVERN,  which  was  a  popular  place  in 
stagecoach  days. 


TOUR   13  347 

Reuben  T.  Durrett,  Kentucky  historian  and  eminent  lawyer  of  Louis- 
ville, was  born  near  New  Castle  in  1824.  From  1857  to  1859  he  was 
editor  of  the  Louisville  Courier  and  he  founded  the  Filson  Club  of 
Louisville  and  the  Louisville  Public  Library. 

On  the  outskirts  of  New  Castle  is  the  one-and-a-half-story  GRAVES 
HOUSE,  built  of  gray  brick  in  1820.  A  fanlighted  doorway  gives  en- 
trance to  a  wide  hall  in  which  is  a  circular  stairway  with  balustrade  of 
cherry.  William  Jordan  Graves  was  a  Member  of  Congress  from  1835 
to  1841,  and  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Louisville.  On  February  24,  1838, 
he  fought  a  duel  at  Bladensburg,  Maryland,  with  Jonathan  Cilley,  a 
Member  of  Congress  from  Maine.  The  weapons  were  rifles,  and  the 
distance  was  80  yards.  Cilley  was  killed  at  the  third  shot.  The  duel, 
which  created  a  Nation-wide  sensation,  was  the  last  in  which  men  of 
prominence  were  involved,  and  was  partly  responsible  for  the  outlaw- 
ing of  this  custom.  Cilley  had  risen  in  Congress  to  denounce  an  anony- 
mous gossip  article  accusing  a  colleague  of  immorality;  he  had  blamed 
the  article  on  a  Member  of  Congress  from  Virginia.  Graves  had  chal- 
lenged him  in  defense  of  the  Virginian. 

LA  GRANGE,  96.5  m.  (850  alt.,  1,121  pop.),  seat  of  Oldham 
County,  was  named  for  the  French  estate  of  General  Lafayette. 

The  ROBERT  MORRIS  HOUSE  (open),  110  Washington  St.,  a  simple 
two-story  frame  house  (L),  is  preserved  as  a  memorial  to  the  man  who 
established  the  order  of  the  Eastern  Star  in  1850.  Born  in  Massachu- 
setts in  1818,  Morris  became  a  traveler  and  writer  often  referred  to  as 
the  "Poet  Laureate  of  Free  Masonry."  He  died  here  in  1888. 

The  D.  W.  GRIFFITH  HOUSE  (L),  cor.  4th  and  Madison  Sts.,  is  a 
spacious,  two-story  frame  house  built  by  the  motion-picture  producer. 
David  Wark  Griffith,  son  of  Confederate  Lt.  Col.  Jacob  Wark  Griffith, 
was  born  in  this  town  on  January  16,  1880.  He  was  educated  in  the 
local  public  school  and  in  time  became  a  reporter  on  the  Louisville 
Courier- Journal.  He  left  this  position  to  join  the  Louisville  Stock  Com- 
pany. After  a  succession  of  theatrical  engagements,  he  went  to  work 
in  a  foundry  at  Tonawanda,  New  York.  In  1908  he  was  engaged  by 
the  Biograph  Company  of  New  York  City  to  write  scenarios  and  that 
same  year  directed  the  highly  successful  picture,  The  Adventures  of 
Dollie.  As  a  producer  Griffith  has  been  notable  for  the  spectacular  and 
sentimental  character  of  his  films;  his  most  popular  pictures  are  The 
Birth  of  a  Nation  and  Hearts  of  the  World. 

The  new  MEDIUM  SECURITY  PRISON  (R),  98.3  m.,  is  being  erected 
(1939)  on  a  200-acre  tract  to  replace  the  antiquated  prison  at  the  State 
capital  (see  Frankfort).  When  completed  this  prison  will  comprise  a 
hospital,  gymnasium,  library,  industrial  buildings,  and  dormitories, 
erected  according  to  modern  standards  of  penology,  with  emphasis  on 
corrective  treatment. 

CRESTWOOD,  105.3  m.  (300  pop.),  is  a  residential  village. 

1.  Left  from  Crestwood  on  an  improved  road  to  FLOYDSBURG,  1  m.  (200 
pop.)>  named  for  Col.  John  Floyd,  who  was  sent  out  in  1774  by  Patrick  Henry 


348  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

and  other  prominent  Virginians  to  hunt  choice  lands  in  this  vicinity.  In  the  ceme- 
tery is  the  DUNCAN  MEMORIAL  CHAPEL,  erected  in  1937  by  a  former  resident,  Alex- 
ander Edward  Duncan,  a  banker  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  memory  of  his  wife, 
Flora  Ross  Duncan.  The  chapel,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Duncan  family  burial 
ground,  now  a  public  cemetery,  is  of  stone  with  white  oak  interior  trim;  it  is 
Gothic  in  style  and  has  an  unusually  slender  central  spire.  The  stone,  gray  from 
age,  came  from  old  buildings  and  fences  in  the  neighboring  countryside.  An  ell- 
shaped  extension  at  the  rear,  connected  with  the  chapel  by  a  loggia,  contains  living 
quarters  for  the  caretaker.  The  interior  of  the  building  is  lined  with  cut  Indiana 
limestone.  The  altar  carving,  suggested  by  Da  Vinci's  The  Last  Supper,  was  exe- 
cuted by  F.  Pescosta,  formerly  of  Oberammergau,  Germany.  A  grapevine  motif 
is  carved  on  the  pews,  lectern,  pulpit,  and  around  the  altar.  The  stained-glass  win- 
dows are  outstanding  examples  of  modern  work ;  the  two  lower  medallions  over  the 
altar  were  designed  by  Henry  Lee  Willett  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and  were 
exhibited  in  the  1937  Paris  Exposition.  The  electrically  operated  chimes  play  every 
half-hour  during  the  afternoon  on  Sunday  and  holidays.  Around  this  chapel,  which 
is  non-sectarian  and  for  the  use  of  the  community,  are  old  tombstones,  trees,  and 
a  landscaped  garden  with  a  lake,  carefully  tended  walks,  and  rose  beds. 

2.  Right  from  Crestwood  on  an  improved  road  to  the  CLORE  HOUSE,  1  m.,  built 
by  Richard  Clore  and  his  wife,  Narcissa,  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  old 
one-and-a-half-story  house,  of  brick  burned  on  the  place  by  slave  labor,  is  on  the 
site  of  the  cabin  that  was  the  first  Kentucky  home  of  Richard  Clore.  The  slave 
quarters  stand  in  the  yard. 

PEWEE  VALLEY,  106.6  m.  (582  pop.),  is  a  quiet  suburban  village 
with  attractive  old  homes  on  spacious  lawns.  The  streets  are  tree- 
shaded.  In  1852  this  was  Smith's  Station;  the  name  was  changed  to 
Pewee  Valley  because  of  the  great  number  of  phoebes  or  pewees  in 
the  region. 

The  BEECHES  (open  on  request),  a  large  two-story  white  frame  struc- 
ture (R)  with  a  wide  porch  across  the  front,  was  the  home  of  Annie 
Fellows  Johnston  (1863-1931),  author  of  the  Little  Colonel  stories  for 
children;  it  is  now  occupied  by  the  author's  daughter,  Mary  Lee  John- 
ston. Annie  Fellows  Johnston  acquired  this  property  in  1911  on  the 
death  of  the  widow  of  Gen.  Henry  W.  Lawton,  captor  of  the  Apache, 
Geronimo,  and  division  commander  at  El  Caney  in  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can War.  After  General  Lawton's  death  in  the  Philippine  campaign, 
this  house  had  been  purchased  by  Nation-wide  subscription  and  given 
to  Mrs.  Lawton.  Practically  all  of  Mrs.  Johnston's  writing  was  done 
here,  and  many  of  her  characters  were  neighbors.  Hattie  Cochran, 
granddaughter  of  the  Confederate  Col.  George  Weissinger,  was  the 
Little  Colonel,  and  Craig  and  Billy  Culbertson  were  the  Two  Little 
Knights  of  Kentucky. 

The  CRAIG  HOUSE  (L),  directly  opposite  the  Beeches,  is  a  two-story 
gray  brick  structure  built  in  1861  by  Walter  N.  Haldeman  (1821- 
1902),  founder  of  the  Louisville  Courier  and  Times.  This  house  is  the 
locale  of  Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 

The  JENNIE  CASSEDAY  REST  COTTAGE  (R),  107.1  m.,  a  vacation 
home  for  young  working  women,  was  established  in  1897  by  Jennie 
Casseday  of  Louisville.  The  rambling  plantation-type  house  is  of  wood, 
painted  white,  and  has  an  ell  with  broad  porches  and  several  bays;  it 


TOUR   13  349 

is  surrounded  by  a  large  shady  lawn,  part  of  the  56-acre  tract  owned 
by  the  institution.  Miss  Casseday,  who  inherited  a  considerable  for- 
tune from  her  father,  was  an  invalid  for  more  than  40  years.  She  pro- 
vided a  small  legacy  for  Rest  Cottage,  the  maintenance  of  which  was 
then  undertaken  by  the  King's  Daughters.  It  is  now  under  Community 
Chest  supervision.  The  40  young  women  who  can  be  accommodated 
at  the  cottage  are  allowed  to  stay  two  weeks,  at  a  total  cost  of  $5.  There 
is  a  large  recreation  room,  a  library,  and  equipment  for  volleyball, 
tennis,  ping  pong,  croquet,  and  other  games. 

In  the  1860's  Rest  Cottage  was  the  home  of  Catherine  A.  Warfield, 
best  known  as  the  author  of  Feme  Fleming  and  its  sequel,  Cardinal's 
Daughter. 

ANCHORAGE,  111.5  m.  (564  pop.),  with  beautiful  estates  and 
winding  lanes,  shaded  by  giant  trees,  is  a  residential  suburb  of  Louis- 
ville. It  was  first  called  Hobb's  Station  in  honor  of  E.  D.  Hobbs, 
president  of  the  Louisville  &  Lexington  R.R.  When  the  town  was  in- 
corporated, in  1876,  it  was  renamed  for  the  estate  of  Capt.  J.  W. 
Goslee,  a  steamboat  pilot,  who,  when  he  retired  and  built  his  home  at 
Hobb's  Station,  said  he  wished  "to  anchor  there  for  life."  An  ANCHOR 
(R)  on  the  lawn  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  station  is  said  to 
have  been  presented  to  the  town  by  Captain  Goslee.  The  anchor,  sur- 
mounted with  a  gilded  eagle,  was  used  for  many  years  as  a  fire  alarm. 
The  alarm  was  sounded  by  striking  the  anchor  with  an  iron  instrument. 
The  CAPTAIN  GOSLEE  HOUSE,  Evergreen  Ave.,  is  a  two-story,  red  brick 
structure  with  a  steep  gable  roof,  built  before  the  War  between  the 
States.  The  slave  quarters  remain  in  the  yard. 

In  1916  the  offices  of  the  Southern  Pacific  R.R.  were  moved  to 
Anchorage,  and  the  little  village  suddenly  found  itself  the  home  office 
of  a  corporation  controlling  13,000  miles  of  track,  not  one  foot  of 
which  was  near  Kentucky.  When  corporation  laws  in  the  State  were 
made  more  stringent,  the  railway  offices  moved  away. 

In  LAKELAND  (R),  112.2  m.,  is  the  CENTRAL  KENTUCKY  STATE 
HOSPITAL,  founded  in  1870,  largest  State  institution  for  the  insane. 
Two  farms  are  maintained.  One  here,  comprising  900  acres,  is  worked 
in  part  by  patients.  The  other,  a  375-acre  farm  at  Pine  Bluff,  Shelby 
County,  includes  a  large  dairy  and  is  operated  by  about  40  patients 
who  live  there  on  a  cottage  plan.  An  average  of  2,000  patients  are 
cared  for  here. 

The  hospital  was  erected  here  because  of  the  water  supply,  the  lake 
for  which  the  place  is  named  being  fed  by  a  spring. 

The  HITE  HOUSE,  adjacent  to  the  institution,  now  a  dormitory  for 
employees  of  the  hospital,  was  erected  about  1800  by  Jacob  Kite.  The 
house,  built  of  local  brick,  has  walls  18  inches  thick  and  carved  wood- 
work. An  old  brick  walk  near  the  house  leads  down  to  a  cave,  which 
contains  a  spring  and  was  formerly  used  for  cold  storage. 

ORMSBY  VILLAGE  (L),  113.1  m.,  the  Louisville  and  Jefferson 
County  Children's  Home,  is  a  model  institution  built  and  conducted  on 


350  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

the  cottage  plan.  The  wards  of  the  village  are  committed  to  its  care 
in  cases  of  neglect,  ill  treatment,  delinquency,  or  undesirable  home  con- 
ditions. The  home  has  evolved  from  the  old  House  of  Refuge,  later 
the  Industrial  School  of  Reform,  which  was  established  in  1865  at 
Third  and  Shipp  Sts.  in  Louisville  on  what  is  now  the  campus  of  the 
University  of  Louisville.  The  institution  was  moved  to  this  place  in 
1925. 

The  KENTUCKY  CHILDREN'S  HOME  (R),  114.2  m.,  is  conducted  by 
a  society  founded  in  1895  by  Judge  R.  H.  Thompson  of  Louisville. 
The  work  began  in  a  modest  frame  house-  in  Louisville.  By  1922, 
through  State,  county,  and  municipal  aid  as  well  as  private  gifts,  the 
society  was  able  to  erect  this  $500,000  plant.  Approximately  8,000 
children  have  been  sheltered  here  and  many  of  them  have  been  placed 
in  homes  in  the  State  under  supervision  of  the  society.  An  average  of 
350  children  are  cared  for  in  the  home  at  one  time. 

KENTUCKY  MILITARY  INSTITUTE  (R),  114.3  m.,  a  private  military 
academy,  was  founded  in  1845  by  Robert  .T.  P.  Allen,  graduate  of 
West  Point  and  veteran  of  the  Seminole  War.  A  broad  macadamized 
driveway,  bordered  on  both  sides  by  maple  trees  and  bluegrass  meadows, 
leads  to  the  entrance,  a  massive  arch,  supported  by  ivy-covered  columns 
of  limestone.  Along  the  driveway  is  a  lake  (L),  fed  by  springs,  which 
is  used  for  recreational  purposes.  The  campus  is  noted  for  its  fine 
old  trees,  thick  hedges,  and  grassy  lawns.  Facing  a  drive-encircled 
oval  of  grass,  trees,  shrubbery,  and  flowers,  is  the  Administration  Build- 
ing, once  the  home  of  Stephen  Ormsby  (1765-1846),  brilliant  Ken- 
tucky statesman.  This  stately  two-story  building  is  of  stuccoed  brick, 
in  the  Greek  Revival  style.  The  pediment  of  its  broad  portico  is  sup- 
ported by  four  massive  columns  of  the  Ionic  order.  Edison  Science 
Building,  named  for  Thomas  A.  Edison,  is  a  two-story  rectangular 
brick  building  with  gable  roof.  The  two  are  of  Georgian  Colonial 
design.  Railed  porches  extend  the  entire  length  of  each  floor.  The 
gymnasium,  also  of  Georgian  Colonial  design,  erected  in  1928,  is  of 
white  brick  veneered  over  a  reinforced  concrete  wall.  The  junior  school 
is  in  Fowler  Hall,  a  white  one-story  hipped-roof  structure,  forming  an 
open  quadrangle  at  the  rear  of  the  campus. 

During  the  War  between  the  States  the  institute  furnished  both  the 
Federal  and  Confederate  Armies  with  officers.  After  the  Christmas 
holidays  the  entire  cadet  corps  goes  into  the  institute's  winter  quarters 
at  Venice,  Florida.  Student  enrollment  during  1936-37  was  225. 

LYNDON,  115.2  m.  (250  pop.),  is  a  small  suburban  village. 

Right  from  Lyndon  on  Herr  Lane  to  the  junction  with  Wesport  Rd.,  1  m.  Here 
is  the  HERR  HOUSE  (L),  built  in  1789  by  Captain  Edwards,  and  sold  in  1814  to 
John  Herr,  a  settler  from  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  The  house,  one  of  the  earliest 
built  of  brick  in  the  State,  is  shown  on  the  map  of  John  Filson,  published  in  1784. 
The  bricks  were  burned  on  the  place  and  laid  in  Flemish  bond;  the  walls 
are  24  inches  thick.  The  ash  and  walnut  used  in  the  construction  came  from  the 
estate.  The  Herr  homestead  became  a  center  of  social  life  in  the  old  German  set- 
tlement; quilting  parties  and  corn  huskings  were  frequently  held  here.  John  Herr 


TOUR    13  351 

is  said  to  have  been  the  best  shot  and  the  best  corn  shucker  in  the  community. 
This  home  also  played  an  important  part  in  early  religious  life,  for  it  was  here 
that  Alexander  Campbell  and  Elder  John  Smith  ("Raccoon  John")  conducted  some 
of  the  first  meetings  of  the  Christian  Church  (see  Tour  15). 

At  116.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  8  miles  east 
of  Louisville. 


Tour  14 


(Aberdeen,    Ohio) — Maysville — Georgetown — Versailles — Bardstown — 
Elizabethtown — Central  City — Paducah;  US  62. 
Ohio  Line  to  Paducah,  358.9  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

Illinois  Central  R.R.  roughly  parallels  route  between  Elizabethtown  and  Paducah; 

Southern  Ry.  between  Georgetown  and  Versailles. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  larger  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

This  route,  a  pleasant  alternate  to  the  more  congested  and  commer- 
cialized highways  across  the  State,  traverses  the  steep  hills  along  the 
Ohio  River,  the  rich  bottomlands  of  the  Licking  River  Valley,  and 
the  rolling  pasture  lands  of  the  Bluegrass.  Between  Springfield  and 
Leitchfield  it  winds  through  the  Knobs  area;  between  Leitchfield  and 
the  Cumberland  River  it  skirts  undulating  farm  lands  of  the  Pennyrile 
— local  variant  of  pennyroyal,  a  pungent,  aromatic  plant  of  the  mint 
family  that  grows  in  abundance  along  the  banks  of  the  streams.  Be- 
tween the  Cumberland  River  and  Smithland  the  route  passes  through  a 
semibarren  region  that  forms  a  watershed  between  the  Cumberland  and 
Ohio  Rivers.  These  diverse  physical  features  have  produced  a  cor- 
responding diversity  of  modes  and  conditions  of  life. 

Section  a.   OHIO  LINE  to  ELIZABETHTOWN;  170  m.   US  62 

US  62  crosses  the  Ohio  Line,  0  m.,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio 
River;  the  river  is  crossed  on  a  toll  bridge  (toll  25$),  at  Aberdeen, 
Ohio  (see  Ohio  Tour  3). 

MAYSVILLE,  0.5  m.  (448  alt.,  6,557  pop.)  (see  Tour  15),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  6&  (see  Tour  15)  and  State  10  (see  Tour  11). 

Between  Maysville  and  WASHINGTON,  4.6  m.  (500  pop.)  (see 
Tour  15),  US  62  and  US  68  are  one  route  (see  Tour  15). 

Southwest  of  Washington  US  62,  extending  along  one  of  the  high, 
rolling  ridges  that  jut  northward  from  the  Bluegrass  plateau,  affords 
frequent  far-reaching  views  of  quiet  green  valleys  and  wooded  hills, 
deep  blue  in  the  distance.  The  road  winds  through  a  sparsely  settled 


352  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

agricultural  area,  where  tobacco  and  fruit  are  the  principal  crops  and 
stock  raising  is  a  leading  occupation. 

The  SITE  OF  MCKINLEY'S  BLOCKHOUSE  (L)  is  at  7  m.  The  first 
wheat  in  Mason  County  was  grown  on  the  McKinley  farm.  It  is  said 
that  half  the  men  of  the  station  stood  guard  to  ward  off  Indian  attacks 
while  the  remainder  harvested  the  wheat. 

The  SHANNON  METHODIST  CHURCH  (R),  9  m.t  a  small  rectangular 
brick  structure,  belongs  to  a  congregation  formed  in  1801.  The  burying 
ground  contains  many  headstones  with  old-fashioned  inscriptions,  some 
bearing  dates  as  early  as  1824,  and  a  large  Indian  burial  mound.  The 
size  of  the  two  tall  pine  trees  growing  on  this  mound  indicate  that  its 
origin  was  in  prehistoric  times. 

In  MOUNT  OLIVET,  23.8  m.  (419  pop.),  a  quiet  village,  is  the 
ROBERTSON  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  erected  in  1867.  This  was,  until 
recently,  the  only  brick  building  in  the  county.  At  the  old  tobacco 
house  in  Pinhook,  an  early  settlement  in  Robertson  County,  originated 
the  term  "pinhooker,"  which  is  applied  to  the  tobacco  brokers  who 
refuse  to  buy  until  the  prices  are  low  and  the  farmers  are  at  their 
mercy,  then  resell  to  the  warehouse  for  a  higher  price. 

KENTONTOWN,  29.7  m.  (100  pop.),  established  in  1795,  was 
named  in  honor  of  Simon  Kenton  (see  Tour  15),  one  of  the  first  to 
explore  and  hold  land  in  this  region. 

Right  from  Kentontown  on  an  unimproved  road  to  two  METCALF  HOUSES,  1  m., 
built  prior  to  1829  by  Thomas  Metcalf — one  for  himself  and  one  for  his  son  (see 
Forest  Retreat,  Tour  15).  These  story -and-a-half  houses,  still  in  good  condition, 
are  of  stone ;  they  are  basically  Georgian  Colonial  in  design,  though  they  lack  many 
of  the  Georgian  details. 

CLAYSVILLE,  35.7  m.  (75  pop.),  on  the  Licking  River  at  the 
mouth  of  Beaver  Creek,  was  laid  out  by  Alex  Curran  about  1800.  In 
its  early  years  it  was  a  flourishing  commercial  village  and  shipping 
point,  but  since  the  building  of  the  railroad  the  population  and  com- 
mercial activity  have  steadily  declined.  A  COVERED  BRIDGE  just  out- 
side the  town  spans  Middle  Fork  of  Licking  River.  Built  in  1874,  it 
is  still  in  excellent  condition. 

CYNTHIANA,  50.6  m.  (718  alt.,  4,386  pop.)  (see  Tour  3),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 

An  OLD  COVERED  BRIDGE,  50  m.,  over  the  South  Fork  of  Licking 
River,  is  275  feet  long.  Erected  about  1837,  it  has  been  in  constant  use 
ever  since.  The  piers  are  of  stone,  the  timbers  oak  and  poplar,  held 
together  with  hand-wrought  spikes.  The  original  wood  shingles  of 
the  roof  were  made  by  hand.  An  old  county  court  order  book  in  the 
courthouse  at  Cynthiana  records  that: 

"In  January  1837  Samuel  McMillain,  James  Finley,  Wm.  Stephenson, 
Wm.  Moore  and  Josephus  Perrin  were  appointed  commissioners  to  draft 
a  plan  for  a  Bridge  across  South  Fork  of  Licking,  opposite  the  Town 
of  Cynthiana,  to  fix  on  the  eligible  place  for  said  bridge  to  cross  said 
fork,  for  the  materials  of  which  it  shall  be  made,  and  to  open  sub- 


TOUR  14  353 

scriptions  to  raise  money  to  defray  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  expense 
of  erecting  said  Bridge." 

In  July  1837  a  report  was  made  showing  subscriptions  amounting  to 
$500.  Bids  for  building  the  bridge  were  "advertised  in  the  Palladium 
and  such  other  places  as  seemed  proper,"  the  "undertaker"  being  re- 
quired to  keep  the  bridge  in  repair  for  seven  years  after  completion.. 
The  structure,  built  at  a  cost  of  $1,594,  was  ready  for  the  passage  of 
wagons  in  December  1837.  This  bridge  played  an  important  part  in 
General  Morgan's  raid  on  Cynthiana  during  the  War  between  the 
States. 

At  71.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17)  ;  between  this- 
point  and  Georgetown,  US  62  and  State  40  are  united. 

GEORGETOWN,  72.5  m.  (866  alt.,  4,229  pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4)  and  State  40  (see  Tour  17). 

Between  Georgetown  and  a  point  at  73.6  m.  US  62  and  State  40  are 
united. 

Between  Georgetown  and  Versailles  are  undulating  fields,  covered 
with  either  bluegrass  or  tobacco ;  in  season  wild  roses  and  trumpet  vines, 
hide  the  old  stone  fences,  and  in  many  places  rows  of  honey  locusts 
form  an  arch  over  the  roadway. 

PAYNES  DEPOT,  76  m.  (50  pop.),  is  a  railroad  junction  and  ship- 
ping point. 

MIDWAY,  83.7  m.  (830  alt.,  808  pop.),  with  its  tree-shaded  streets, 
old  houses,  and  well-kept  lawns  and  flower  gardens,  gives  an  impression, 
of  gracious  living.  The  name  refers  to  General  Francisco's  log  house 
built  here  in  1795,  midway  between  Lexington  and  Frankfort.  Chief 
Justice  John  Marshall  referred  to  Midway  as  "the  asparagus  bed  o£ 
the  garden  spot  of  Kentucky,"  and  the  sobriquet  has  survived.  Ac- 
cording to  tradition  this  place  furnished  local  color  for  Mary  J.  Holmes' 
Tempest  and  Sunshine. 

NUGENTS'  CROSSROADS,  87.7  m.}  is  named  for  members  of  the 
Nugent  family  who  operate  the  general  store  (L)  on  the  corner.  Op- 
posite stands  (R)  an  OLD  TAVERN  (unoccupied)  built  of  red  brick; 
in  stagecoach  days  this  was  one  of  the  important  stopping  places  for 
rest  and  refreshment  on  the  journey  between  Cincinnati  and  Louisville. 

STONE  WALL  (L),  88.7  m.,  is  the  stock  farm  of  the  Viley  family. 
The  wall  that  suggested  the  name  of  the  farm  was  built  in  1863  of 
field  stone  without  mortar,  like  many  of  the  older  walls  throughout 
the  Bluegrass  region.  During  the  reconstruction  period  (1865-75)  the 
grove  of  walnut  trees,  near  the  house,  was  the  scene  of  political  meet- 
ings and  barbecues,  attended  by  such  men  as  James  D.  Beck  and 
J.  C.  S.  Blackburn,  who  was  United  States  Senator  from  Kentucky, 
1885-97  and  1901-07.  After  service  in  the  Senate,  Blackburn  was. 
made  Isthmian  Canal  Commissioner. 

The  old-fashioned  barbecue  was  attended  by  people  from  the  entire 
countryside,  who  gathered  to  hear  fiery  political  speeches  and  consume 
quantities  of  burgoo.  This  delectable  concoction  is  still  regarded  as  a 
requisite  to  every  large  gathering  in  Kentucky;  no  political  campaign' 


354  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

can  be  launched  or  thoroughbred  sale  conducted  without  this  as  the 
main  dish.  Burgoo  is  a  rich,  thick  soup  or  broth  made  with  beef, 
chicken,  and  vegetables.  Huge  caldrons  containing  the  highly  seasoned 
mixture  are  fitted  snugly  over  ditches  in  which  wood  fires  have  been 
built.  Burgoo  must  be  stirred  continuously,  and  the  process  of  making 
it  requires  24  hours. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  Gus  Jaubert,  a  French  member  of  Gen. 
John  Morgan's  cavalry,  originated  burgoo  at  a  time  when  food  was  so 
scarce  that  all  men  but  the  officers  had  to  eat  blackbirds.  He  prepared 
a  mixture  with  blackbirds  as  the  main  ingredient,  and  the  story  is  that 
the  officers,  upon  sampling  the  dish,  liked  it  so  much  that  very  little 
was  left  for  the  troopers. 

The  secret  of  the  seasoning  of  burgoo  was  passed  on  by  Jaubert  to 
J.  T.  Looney,  named  the  Burgoo  King  by  Col.  E.  R.  Bradley  (see 
Lexington).  Looney  always  prepared  the  burgoo  served  at  Col.  Brad- 
ley's  annual  Charity  Day  race  meet,  held  for  the  benefit  of  Kentucky 
orphans.  To  honor  Looney,  Colonel  Bradley  gave  this  name  to  a  colt 
that  won  the  Kentucky  Derby  in  1932. 

GLEN  ARTNEY  (R),  opposite  Stone  Wall,  was  for  a  time  the  home 
of  Carry  Moore  (1846-1911),  who,  as  Mrs.  Carry  Nation,  became  a 
notable  prohibition  crusader  (see  Tour  3).  Her  father,  George  Moore, 
owned  the  farm,  called  Lota  Wana  at  the  time. 

At  90.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16) ;  between  this 
point  and  VERSAILLES,  91.7  m.  (923  alt.,  200  pop.)  (see  Tour  16), 
US  62  and  US  60  are  united. 

At  91.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  McCoun's  Ferry-Soards  Ferry 
Turnpike. 

Right  on  this  road  to  the  SCOTT  HOUSE,  7.1  m.,  built  of  logs  in  1784  and  now 
weatherboarded.  This  was  the  home  of  Gen.  Charles  Scott,  Revolutionary  soldier, 
commander  of  Kentucky  troops  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  Governor  of  Kentucky 
(1808-12).  The  house  was  built  on  Kentucky  River  and  was  known  as  Scott's 
Landing. 

At  95.7  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  Shryock's  Ferry  Rd.,  hard-sur- 
faced. 

Left  on  this  road  to  Grier's  Creek,  2  m.,  from  which  an  unimproved  road  and 
a  footpath  wind  up  a  high  hill  to  the  MULDROW  HOUSE  (open  on  request).  This 
late  Georgian  Colonial  style  house,  which  has  been  much  admired  by  architects, 
was  built  in  1817  by  Col.  Andrew  Muldrow,  a  leading  citizen  of  his  day,  who  was 
by  turns  a  miller,  distiller,  legislator,  and  churchman.  Colonel  Muldrow  served  in 
the  Kentucky  Legislature  (1822-29). 

The  graceful  arched  portico  is  reached  by  seven  semicircular  steps.  The  front 
door  is  flanked  by.  side  lights  and  topped  with  a  fan  transom  of  frosted  glass  in 
scroll  design.  There  are  handsome  Palladian  windows  on  each  side  of  the  portico 
and  in  each  end  of  the  second  story.  The  house  is  two  rooms  in  depth  with  a 
central  hall  20  feet  wide;  a  kitchen  is  connected  with  the  main  house  by  an  open 
passage.  The  carved  woodwork  of  the  interior,  notably  the  chair  rails,  the  man- 
tels in  the  two  front  rooms,  and  the  arch  that  divides  the  hall  with  its  twin  reed 
columns  and  pilasters,  are  of  unusually  fine  craftsmanship.  The  caps  of  the  col- 


TOUR  14  355 

umns  and  pilasters  are  lightened  by  pierced  work  in  graceful  design;  the  trim  of 
the  arch,  embellished  with  a  classic  egg-and-dart  motif,  stars,  and  dentils,  is 
crowned  with  a  reeded  keystone. 

JOE  BLACKBURN  BRIDGE  (toll  50<f),  97.7  m.,  spanning  the  Kentucky 
River,  is  a  concrete  structure  175  feet  in  height.  The  approaches  are 
curved,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  huge  S.  The  bridge  was  dedicated 
in  June  1932  and  the  name  honors  J.  C.  S.  Blackburn,  United  States 
Senator  (1885-97,  1901-07).  It  affords  an  exceptionally  fine  view  of 
the  river  and  palisades. 

The  center  of  YOUNG'S  HIGH  BRIDGE  (L),  visible  from  the  Joe 
Blackburn  Bridge,  is  265  feet  above  low  water;  the  bridge  is  1,665 
feet  long  and  carries  railroad  tracks. 

TYRONE,  98.7  m.  (120  pop.),  named  for  County  Tyrone  in  Ire- 
land, is  primarily  dependent  on  the  T.  B.  RIPY  DISTILLERY  (L). 

LAWRENCEBURG,  101.8  m.  (788  alt.,  1,763  pop.),  seat  of  Ander- 
son County,  was  named  in  honor  of  Capt.  James  Lawrence,  commander 
of  the  Chesapeake,  whose  last  words  were  "Don't  give  up  the  ship." 
It  has  wide,  tree-shaded  streets  and  comfortable  homes  with  well-kept 
lawns.  The  ANDERSON  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE  (L),  with  its  tall  clock 
tower,  is  constructed  of  local  limestone  and  designed  in  the  French 
Renaissance  style.  The  first  settler  of  Lawrenceburg  was  a  Dutchman 
named  Coffman,  who  arrived  in  1776  with  his  family  from  western 
Pennsylvania.  He  built  a  double  log  house,  which  later  served  as  a 
stopping  point  between  Harrodsburg  and  Frankfort  and  became  known 
as  Coffman's  Station.  Lawrenceburg,  incorporated  in  1820,  prospered 
early,  chiefly  by  the  production  of  fine  whisky. 

The  song  "Oh,  Mr.  Johnson,  Turn  Me  Loose"  was  written  by  Ben 
Harney  while  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Lawrenceburg  jail.  Harney's 
plea  was  meant  for  Jesse  M.  Johnson,  the  mayor. 

Lawrenceburg  is  at  the  junction  with  State  35  (see  Tour  5). 

WALNUT  GROVE  FARM  (open  on  request),  104  m.,  is  a  stock  farm 
widely  known  for  its  saddle  horses. 

SINAI,  111.6  m.  (45  pop.),  is  the  post  office  for  the  little  settlement 
of  Shiloh,  called  Dogwalk  in  pioneer  days.  The  little  community  was 
renamed  to  commemorate  the  Battle  of  Shiloh. 

BLOOMFIELD,  132  m.  (455  pop.),  on  Simpson  Creek,  was  founded 
in  1799  by  Dr.  John  Bemiss  of  Rochester,  N.Y.,  but  was  not  incor- 
porated until  1819.  The  section  of  the  town  lying  on  the  western 
side  of  the  dividing  creek  was  known  as  Gandertown  because  in  early 
days  the  young  men  in  this  region  indulged  in  gander  pulling.  A  post 
set  in  the  ground  had  a  revolving  crossbar  from  which  a  gander  with  a 
soaped  neck  was  suspended  by  the  feet.  The  men,  mounted  on  horse- 
back, rode  at  full  speed  past  the  post,  attempting  to  seize  the  gander's 
neck  as  they  went  by.  The  prize  was  awarded  to  the  contestant  who 
succeeded  in  jerking  off  the  head. 

The  D.  Y.  DAVIS  HOUSE  (L),  on  Main  St.,  built  of  brick  and  de- 
signed in  the  Georgian  Colonial  style,  has  a  recessed  doorway  with 


356  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

hand-carved  woodwork  and  silver  doorknob.  The  MINOR  HOUSE  (R), 
on  Main  St.,  an  unusual  Georgian  Colonial  house  with  a  recessed  two- 
story  portico,  stands  on  an  eminence  overlooking  Simpson  Creek.  The 
house,  of  brick  painted  white,  was  built  in  1813.  - 

WICKLAND  (small  fee),  142.5  m.,  known  as  the  "Home  of  Three 
Governors,"  (R)  stands  among  stately  trees.  The  estate  once  belonged 
to  Dr.  Walter  Brashear,  the  Bardstown  and  Lexington  surgeon  who 
performed  the  first  successful  hip-joint  amputation  of  record.  On 
moving  to  Lexington  in  1813,  Dr.  Brashear  sold  the  property  to  Charles 
A.  Wickliffe,  who  at  once  built  the  present  house  on  the  designs  of  the 
architects  John  Marshall  Brown  and  John  Rogers,  to  whose  skill  Ken- 
tucky owes  many  of  its  fine  old  homes. 

The  two-and-a-half -story  house,  has  a  low  two-story  ell  and  contains 
14  rooms.  The  foundation  is  of  limestone  and  the  walls  are  of  locally 
burned  brick.  Especially  noteworthy  are  the  fine  doorways  with  side 
lights  and  large  fanlights,  the  hand-carved  woodwork,  and  the  carved 
mantels,  showing  in  their  decoration  the  Adam  influence.  A  graceful 
stairway  rises  from  the  well-proportioned  entrance  hall.  A  wide  window 
on  the  stairs  offers  an  excellent  vista  of  the  rolling  landscape. 

Charles  A.  Wickliffe,  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1830-40),  was  first  of 
three  Governors  to  reside  here.  The  second  was  Robert  Charles  Wick- 
liffe, Governor  of  Louisiana  in  1855,  and  one  of  the  leading  criminal 
lawyers  of  the  South.  The  third  Governor  was  John  Cripps  Wickliffe 
Beckham,  grandson  of  Charles  A.  Wickliffe;  he  was  born  here,  and 
was  the  chief  executive  of  his  State  (1900-07). 

At  143.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15),  which  unites 
with  US  62  between  this  point  and  Bardstown. 

BARDSTOWN,  144.1  m.  (637  alt.,  1,767  pop.)  (see  Tour  15),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15)  and  US  3 IE  (see  Tour  6). 

West  of  Bardstown,  US  62  proceeds  gradually  into  the  Knobs  belt, 
a  region  of  rounded  hills. 

ELIZABETHTOWN,  170  m.  (708  alt.,  2,590  pop.)  (see  Tour  7), 
is  at  the  junction  with  US  31W  (see  Tour  7). 

Section  b.    ELIZABETHTOWN  to  PADUCAH;   188,9  m.,  US  62 

US  62  turns  (R)  at  the  courthouse  in  ELIZABETHTOWN,  0  m., 
and  runs  southwest  through  the  Knobs. 

CLARKSON,  25.9  m.  (356  pop.),  is  at  the  junction  with  State  88. 

Left  from  Clarkson  on  State  88  to  GRAYSON  SPRINGS,  2  m.,  a  collection  of 
numerous  white  sulphur  springs  that  vary  in  temperature. 

LEITCHFIELD,  30.4  m.  (635  alt.,  950  pop.),  was  named  for  Maj. 
David  Leitch,  who  owned  the  land  on  which  this  county  seat  was  set- 
tled. Leitch's  land  was  adjacent  to  a  5,000-acre  tract  claimed  by 
George  Washington. 

West  of  Leitchfield  the  land  is  much  dissected  by  the  tributaries  of 


TOUR  14  357 

Rough  and  Nolin  Rivers,  the  most  crooked  waterways  in  the  State. 
The  general  course  of  the  highway  is  over  the  watershed  between  these 
two  streams.    Along  the  roadside  are  coal  mine  workings. 
At  66.3  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  71. 

Right  on  State  71  to  HARTFORD,  4  m.  (425  alt.,  1,106  pop.),  seat  of  Ohio 
County,  on  the  bank  of  Rough  River,  surrounded  by  hills  that  rise  650  to  700  feet. 
At  the  time  of  its  founding  in  1790,  Hartford  was  called  Deer  Crossing,  from 
which  "hart-ford"  was  evolved.  The  COMMERCIAL  HOTEL  in  Hartford,  established 
in  1797,  was  first  known  as  the  Lyon  Inn. 

BEAVER  DAM,  67.2  m.  (1,036  pop.),  is  an  important  mining  center 
of  the  western  Kentucky  coal  fields.  Excellent  strawberries  are  grown 
in  this  region,  and  in  early  June  at  the  close  of  the  picking  season 
Beaver  Dam  is  the  scene  of  an  annual  strawberry  festival. 

A  ferry  (toll  50$)  crosses  the  GREEN  RIVER  at  77  m.  (good 
muskellunge  fishing),  the  narrowest  stream  in  the  State  that  can  be 
navigated  for  any  distance  by  steamboats;  six  locks  and  dams  provide 
a  constant  five-foot  channel.  Its  stillness,  deep  color,  and  closely  over- 
hanging trees  produce  a  peaceful  effect.  It  is  believed  that  Green 
River  was  once  a  subterranean  stream,  and  that  through  the  ages  the 
ceiling  above  wore  away  and  caved  in,  bringing  the  stream  to  the  sur- 
face. In  this  region  have  been  found  numerous  shell  mounds  of  a  type 
exceedingly  rare  in  Kentucky. 

At  77.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  Paradise  Rd.,  unimproved. 

Left  on  this  road  to  the  SITE  OF  AIRDRIE,  4  m.,  a  ghost  town.  On  the  nar- 
row strip  of  land  between  Green  River  and  the  hill  upon  which  Airdrie  was  built, 
is  a  vine-covered  furnace  stack  among  the  cedars  and  sycamores.  More  than  50 
feet  in  height,  the  stone  stack  has  a  cylindrical  section  on  a  square  base.  Near  by 
is  the  old  fortlike,  three-story  machinery  house  of  dressed  sandstone,  now  without 
floors,  roof,  or  window  frames.  On  the  wall  is  a  stone  bearing  the  legend,  "Air- 
drie, 1855."  Shaded  by  trees  and  covered  with  Virginia  creeper  are  60  stone  steps 
on  the  SITE  OF  THE  ALEXANDER  HOUSE,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1907. 

Robert  Alexander,  founder  of  Airdrie,  was  born  in  Frankfort  in  1819.  He  was 
educated  in  Scotland  and,  upon  the  death  of  his  uncle,  Sir  William  Alexander,  suc- 
ceeded him  to  the  title.  Several  years  later  Alexander  came  back  to  Kentucky  and 
bought  about  17,000  acres  of  land  along  this  section  of  Green  River,  where  a  de- 
posit of  ore  had  been  discovered.  Here  he  built  an  iron  furnace,  a  mill,  a  large 
stone  house,  a  hotel,  and  a  number  of  houses  for  the  iron  workers  that  he  had 
brought  from  Scotland.  He  called  the  place  Airdrie,  for  his  Scotch  home.  The 
venture  was  unprofitable,  and,  in  1857,  Alexander  abandoned  the  furnace  and  re- 
tired to  his  estate  near  Lexington. 

In  1866  Gen.  Don  Carlos  Buell  bought  1,000  acres  of  land,  including  the  Airdrie 
furnace,  to  prospect  for  oil.  He  found  more  coal  and  iron  than  oil,  however,  and 
began  to  work  those  deposits.  But  freight  rates  on  Green  River,  his  only  outlet, 
were  so  high  that  he  also  abandoned  the  works.  Buell  lived  here  until  his  death 
in  1898. 

West  of  the  junction  with  Paradise  Rd.,  US  62  continues  through  a 
comparatively  desolate  broken  area,  much  dissected  by  the  many  small 
tributaries  of  Green  River. 


358  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

CENTRAL  CITY,  85.6  m.  (462  alt.,  4,321  pop.),  a  mining  town 
in  a  basin  among  the  hills,  has  an  air  of  industrialism  because  of  the 
smoke  and  noise  from  its  railroad  yards.  The  community  was  long 
known  as  Morehead's  Horse  Mill,  having  been  built  on  land  once 
owned  by  C.  S.  Morehead,  who  operated  a  gristmill  propelled  by  horse 
power.  After  the  building  of  the  Illinois  Central  R.R.  in  1870,  the 
name  was  changed. 

At  Central  City  is  the  junction  with  State  81. 

Right  on  State  81,  which  passes  through  a  region -where  large  amounts  of  coal 
are  produced.  The  ruins  of  many  old  furnaces  are  evidence  that  mining  and  the 
smelting  of  iron  ore  was  formerly  a  flourishing  industry  here. 

BREMEN,  9  m.  (255  pop.),  is  a  community  settled  by  German  immigrants,  who 
named  it  for  the  German  seaport. 

In  1861  SACRAMENTO,  14  m.  (327  pop.),  was  the  scene  of  an  engagement  be- 
tween Confederate  troops  under  Col.  Nathan  B.  Forrest,  and  a  company  of  Fed- 
erals under  Capt.  Robert  G.  Bacon.  The  Confederates  were  victorious. 

RUMSEY,  25  m.  (392  alt.,  262  pop.),  mainly  a  residential  village,  is  connected 
with  Calhoun  by  the  JAMES  BETHEL  GRESHAM  MEMORIAL  BRIDGE  (toll  25$),  which 
spans  Green  River  and  was  named  in  honor  of  one  of  the  first  three  American 
soldiers  to  fall  in  the  World  War.  Gresham,  a  corporal  in  the  16th  Infantry,  was 
killed  at  Batelmont,  France,  on  November  3,  1917. 

CALHOUN,  26  m.  (392  alt.,  683  pop.),  seat  of  McLean  County,  on  the  north 
bank  of  Green  River,  was  known  as  Fort  Vienna  in  1788,  when  it  was  founded  by 
Solomon  Rhoades.  A  granite  marker  (L)  commemorates  the  SITE  OF  FORT  VIENNA 
and  indicates  the  hillside  where  the  early  settlers  dug  caves  for  refuge  during  In- 
dian attacks. 

John  Calhoun,  for  whom  the  town  was  named,  was  the  first  circuit  judge  of 
old  Fort  Vienna,  and  United  States  Congressman  for  one  term  (1835-39). 

Right  8  m.  from  Calhoun  on  State  138  to  LIVERMORE  (1,573  pop.),  on  the 
north  bank  of  Green  River.  Logs  are  rafted  down  to  Livermore  for  use  by  two 
chair  factories.  The  industry  exists  also  on  a  home  production  basis,  and  new 
rattan-bottom  chairs  are  displayed  on  porches  and  in  the  yards  of  many  dwellings. 

South  of  Central  City,  US  62  traverses  a  country  of  scrub  timber, 
denuded  hillsides,  and  areas  heavily  brush-grown.  There  are  many 
small  coal  mines  along  the  highway;  one  of  them,  now  abandoned,  is 
the  Dovey  Mine.  To  it  in  the  summer  of  1881  came  a  stranger,  appar- 
ently in  search  of  employment.  He  casually  inquired  as  to  when  the 
railroad  pay  train  was  due  in  Central  City,  was  informed  that  it  had 
passed  through  the  morning  before,  and  that  William  Dovey,  who  had 
gone  for  the  money,  would  return  some  time  during  the  night.  The 
next  morning  three  strangers  appeared  at  the  Dovey  store.  Two  of 
them  stood  outside  as  guards ;  the  third,  with  cocked  pistol,  entered  the 
building  and  demanded  the  contents  of  the  safe.  Their  holdup  was 
successful,  but  because  William  Dovey  had  been  delayed  in  bringing 
back  the  pay-roll  money,  the  only  loot  was  $13  in  cash  and  a  gold 
watch  engraved  with  John  Dovey 's  name.  When  Jesse  James  was 
killed  a  year  later,  the  Dovey  watch  was  among  the  things  found  in 
James'  possession  and  was  returned  to  its  owner. 

GREENVILLE,  93.1  m.  (538  alt.,  2,451  pop.),  is  the  seat  of  Muhlen- 
berg  County,  named  for  Gen.  John  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg  (1746- 


TOUR   14  359 

1807),  a  Lutheran  minister  of  Virginia,  who  left  his  pulpit  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Revolutionary  War  to  become  a  military  officer.  Al- 
though General  Muhlenberg  made  two  trips  to  Kentucky  in  1784,  he 
never  visited  the  section  that  bears  his  name.  Greenville  is  the  un- 
official capital  of  the  Black  Belt,  an  area  that  produces  a  large  quantity 
of  coal  and  most  of  the  State's  output  of  dark  tobacco.  Substantial 
dwellings  with  wide  verandas  and  spacious,  shady  lawns  reflect  the 
leisure  of  the  retired  farmers  who  live  here. 

The  WEIR  HOUSE,  206  Main  St.,  a  two-story  brick  structure,  built 
in  the  early  1840's,  incorporates  many  Georgian  Colonial  features.  Its 
entrance  has  an  especially  fine  fanlight  and  side  lights  containing  the 
greenish  glass  that  was  in  common  use  when  this  house  was  built.  The 
HENRY  C.  LEWIS  HOUSE,  a  two-story  Georgian  Colonial  style  structure, 
was  erected  for  the  Presbyterian  Academy  in  1852  and  used  by  it  until 
1873.  In  1856  this  school  was  placed  under  the  supervision  of  Dr. 
James  K.  Patterson,  who  subsequently  became  president  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Kentucky.  The  Greenville  school  district  now  owns  and 
uses  the  two  large  brick  buildings  that  formerly  housed  Greenville 
College,  a  school  that  flourished  from  1875  to  1890. 

At  93.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  107. 

Left  on  this  road  to  the  RUINS  OF  BUCKNER  FURNACE,  5  m.,  erected  in  1837  by 
Aylette  H.  Buckner,  father  of  Gen.  Simon  B.  Buckner  (see  Tour  7),  to  refine  the 
surface  iron  ore  of  southern  Muhlenberg  County.  A  pile  of  dressed  rock  in  a 
thicket  is  all  that  remains  of  the  stack,  which  stood  intact  until  1907,  when  it  was 
dynamited  by  people  seeking  the  iron  that  remained  in  it.  The  stack,  a  conical 
tower  80  feet  high,  40  feet  wide  at  the  base,  and  25  feet  across  the  top,  had  a 
double  wall  of  sandstone,  hooped  with  six  iron  bands.  To  the  north  of  the  stack 
were  the  cabins  of  Buckner's  miners  and  wood  choppers,  but  all  traces  of  these 
have  now  disappeared. 

The  three  large  stone  chimneys  about  300  yards  east  of  the  stack  are  the  ruins 
of  the  two-story  log  house  used  by  Buckner  as  a  residence,  office,  and  store.  It  is 
said  that  it  took  three  yoke  of  oxen  to  haul  Buckner's  private  library  from  Glen 
Lily  (see  Tour  7)  in  Hart  County  to  this  place.  Opposite  the  southern  end  of  the 
house  in  the  hillside  was  the  stone  milk  house  over  a  spring.  The  spring  still 
flows  from  under  the  crumbling  walls. 

West  of  Greenville  there  is  a  gradual  improvement  in  the  quality  of 
the  farm  lands  and  the  character  of  farm  buildings. 

On  the  bank  of  POND  RIVER  (R),  104.5  m.,  near  the  highway 
bridge,  is  a  ledge  of  rock  bearing  the  imprint  of  horses'  hoofs.  Sections 
of  this  rock  have  been  taken  to  the  St.  Louis  Museum. 

NORTONVILLE,  111.5  m.  (429  alt.,  829  pop.),  a  coal-mining  com- 
munity, is  on  the  site  (R)  of  a  prehistoric  village  from  which  many 
artifacts  have  been  recovered.  These  have  been  widely  scattered,  but 
good  specimens  are  preserved  in  the  museum  of  the  University  of  Ken- 
tucky (see  Lexington). 

Nortonville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  41  (see  Tour  8). 

DAWSON  SPRINGS,  125.7  m.  (436  alt.,  2,311  pop.),  on  the  west- 
ern edge  of  the  coal  fields,  has  noted  mineral  springs  and  resort  hotels. 


360  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

At  the  southern  edge  of  Dawson  Springs  is  a  fine  view  of  the  meander- 
ing Trade  water  River. 

Left  from  Dawson  Springs  on  State  109  to  DAWSON  SPRINGS  STATE  PARK, 
3  m.  This  500-acre  tract,  which  has  been  reforested,  includes  a  custodian's  lodge, 
water  system,  trails,  bridges,  shelter  houses,  picnic  areas,  and  improved  roads. 

In  OUTWOOD,  4  m.,  is  the  UNITED  STATES  VETERANS  HOSPITAL  (open  daily  9-4), 
in  a  densely  wooded  reservation  of  5,000  acres.  The  27  modern  buildings,  chiefly 
of  brick,  stone  trimmed,  occupy  a  landscaped  plot  of  about  20  acres.  These  were 
erected  at  a  cost  of  approximately  $2,250,000.  Reforestation  and  the  reclamation 
of  eroded  tracts  has  been  carried  on. 

West  of  Dawson  Springs  US  62  crosses  the  Tradewater  River. 

PRINCETON,  137.8  m.  (484  alt.,  4,764  pop.),  an  industrial  and 
retail  center  and  the  seat  of  Caldwell  County,  is  widely  known  for  its 
beautiful  tree-shaded  streets  and  well-kept  old  homes.  Fluor-spar  min- 
ing is  carried  on  in  the  vicinity.  Underneath  the  town  flows  a  sub- 
terranean stream  that  is  the  town's  water  supply.  At  BIG  SPRING 
BOTTOMS,  two  blocks  from  the  courthouse,  the  stream  comes  to  the 
surface,  and  here  the  first  settlers  built  their  rude  log  cabins. 

On  county  court  day  (see  Tour  4),  held  the  third  Monday  of  each 
month,  the  streets  are  filled  with  county  folk  visiting  and  trading.  A 
farmer  was  once  heard  to  remark  that  in  "his  best  trading  days"  he 
had  often  taken  a  horse  or  mule  to  Jockey  Street,  "swapped  around  a 
spell,"  and  at  evening  had  gone  home  with  the  same  animal  and  $100. 

West  of  Princeton,  tobacco  fields  dominate  a  countryside  in  which 
are  some  coal  mines  and  old  workings. 

The  old  FLOURNOY  HOUSE  (R),  138.1  m.,  a  two-story  frame  dwell- 
ing of  eight  or  nine  rooms,  has  been  unoccupied  for  nearly  20  years, 
but  is  kept  in  excellent  condition.  It  was  built  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century  by  the  first  of  the  Flournoys  to  settle  here.  Though  weird 
stories  of  ghosts  in  the  house  began  to  circulate  in  1890,  the  site  and 
the  splendid  construction  of  the  building  attracted  buyers  who  scoffed 
at  "hants"  but  never  remained  long.  Several  groups  of  the  most  skep- 
tical persons  in  the  community  each  determinedly  spent  a  night  in  the 
house  but  never  cared  to  repeat  the  experience.  Some  asserted  that 
they  had  heard  the  rattling  of  chains  and  soft  footfalls  that  approached 
and  passed;  others  insisted  that  they  had  heard  the  slow  music  of  a 
funeral  march.  Verses  were  written  in  blue  crayon  on  the  walls  by 
unseen  hands.  The  verses  were  always  about  battles  of  the  War  be- 
tween the  States,  the  Spanish-American  War,  and  the  assassination  of 
Gov.  William  Goebel.  During  the  gubernatorial  election  of  1899  (see 
History)  William  Goebel,  Democratic  contestant,  had  been  shot  by  an 
assassin  whose  identity  was  never  learned.  Among  the  doggerel  that 
appeared  on  the  walls  was: 

Remember  the  Maine 

Goebel  the  same, 

A  humble  man  of  moral  ways, 


TOUR    14  361 

Lies  murdered  in  his  greatest  days. 

As  long  as  they  stand  these  walls  proclaim 

The  glory  of  his  shining  name. 

Who  disturbs  these  lines  shall  find 

The  bounty  of  this  curse  in  rhyme  .  .  . 

Chains  shall  bind  thee,  bats  shall  tear 

Out  your  eyes,  nest  in  your  hair: 

Oh  guard  thee  well  these  thoughts  of  mine, 

Ye  haunts  that  lived  in  Goebel's  time. 

EDDYVILLE,  150.7  m.  (436  alt.,  1,990  pop.),  seat  of  Lyon  County, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland  River,  was  so  named  because  of  eddies 
in  the  river  above  and  below  the  city. 

The  STATE  PENITENTIARY  (visited  by  application  9-3  daily),  often 
referred  to  by  prisoners  as  the  Castle  on  the  Cumberland,  has  a  grim, 
feudal  appearance  accentuated  by  the  central  entrance  tower  and  the 
stone  wall  that  encloses  12  of  the  37  acres  in  the  prison  tract.  The 
old  stone  structure  received  its  first  prisoners  in  1885.  Since  then 
several  wings  have  been  added,  including  two  cell  blocks,  a  mess  hall, 
and  in  1938  a  recreational  center.  Between  1911  to  1935,  84  prisoners 
were  electrocuted  here.  In  May  1938  the  prison  held  1,473  convicts. 

KUTTAWA,  153.4  m.  (436  alt.,  833  pop.),  is  chiefly  remembered 
for  the  beautiful  trees  that  border  the  highway. 

Right  from  Kuttawa  on  State  93  to  the  ruins  of  KELLY'S  IRON  FURNACE,  1  m., 
where  William  Kelly  (1811-88)  invented  the  air -boiling  process,  later  known  as  the 
Bessemer  process  of  making  steel.  Kelly  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  about  1846 
settled  in  Eddy ville  where  he  engaged  in  the  iron  business ;  here  he  accidentally  dis- 
covered the  revolutionary  process  of  converting  pig  and  cast  iron  into  steel,  but 
because  of  insufficient  blast  pressure  he  was  only  partly  successful  in  making  steel. 
From  1851  to  1856  he  built  experimental  converters  and  worked  secretly;  through 
his  tests  he  learned  that  when  an  air  blast  blew  directly  on  the  molten  iron  a 
greater  heat  was  produced  as  a  result  of  the  more  rapid  decarbonization  of  the 
cast  iron.  Although  his  family  and  friends  feared  he  was  losing  his  mind,  and  at- 
tempted to  persuade  him  to  abandon  his  work,  two  Englishmen,  whom  Kelly  had 
hired  to  assist  in  the  experiments,  greatly  encouraged  him.  He  therefore  concealed 
nothing  from  them.  When  both  Englishmen,  who  were  familiar  with  his  processes, 
disappeared  one  night,  Kelly  traced  them  to  Pennsylvania,  then  to  New  York, 
where  he  learned  that  they  had  taken  passage  to  England.  In  1856  Sir  Henry 
Bessemer  of  England  was  granted  a  United  States  patent  on  the  perfected  process. 
Upon  hearing  this,  Kelly  also  applied  for  a  patent  and  convinced  patent  officials  of 
the  priority  of  his  process.  On  June  23,  1857,  he  was  granted  the  patent  and  de- 
clared the  original  inventor.  Fourteen  years  later  Kelly's  patent  was  renewed  for 
seven  years,  while  Bessemer  was  refused  a  renewal. 

The  contest  between  Kelly  and  Bessemer  was  settled  by  the  formation  of  a 
corporation  that  united  an  ironworks  company  near  Detroit,  which  manufactured 
iron  under  Kelly's  process,  with  another  in  Troy,  New  York,  which  used  Bes- 
semer's  patents.  Kelly  retired  soon  afterward,  and  only  Bessemer's  name  be- 
came identified  with  the  process. 

KUTTAWA  MINERAL  SPRINGS  PARK  (amusement  charges  5$  to  25$),  2m., 
is  a  well-shaded  tract  of  165  acres.  Kuttawa's  seven  springs  produce  crystal-clear 
tasteless  mineral  water.  Within  the  park  are  a  hotel,  cafe,  cabins,  open-air  audi- 
torium, tennis  courts,  ballground,  and  a  swimming  pool  that  is  supplied  with  water 


362  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

from  the  spring  at  the  rate  of  150,000  gallons  a  day.  A  D.A.R.  monument  near 
the  hotel  commemorates  Cobb's  Battery,  an  artillery  organization  prominent  in 
the  War  between  the  States. 

At  IUKA,  160.9  m.  (381  alt.,  55  pop.),  US  62  crosses  the  Cumber- 
land River  by  ferry  (toll  50$)  and  passes  through  the  narrow  hilly 
strip  of  land  that  forms  a  watershed  between  the  Cumberland  and  Ohio 
Rivers.  Here  tobacco  and  corn  are  the  chief  products. 

Between  SMITHLAND,  172.8  m.  (286  alt.,  519  pop.)  (see  Tour 
16),  and  Paducah,  US  62  and  US  60  are  one  route  (see  Tour  16b). 

PADUCAH,  188.9  m.  (341  alt.,  33,541  pop.)   (see  Paducah). 

Points  of  Interest:  Paduke  Statue,  Tilghman  Memorial,  Irvin  Cobb  Hotel,  Mc- 
Cracken  County  Courthouse,  Noble  Park,  Marine  Ways,  Brazelton  House,  Illinois 
Central  House. 

Paducah  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  US  68  (see 
Tour  15),  and  US  45  (see  Tour  9). 


Tour  15 


( Aberdeen,    Ohio )  — Maysville — Lexington — Harr odsburg — B ardstown 
— Hodgenville — Cave  City — Bowling  Green — Paducah;  US  68. 
Ohio  Line  to  Paducah,  381.8  m. 

Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  parallels  this  route  between  Maysville  and  Lexington 
and  between  Cave  City  and  Paducah. 
Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 
Accommodations  chiefly  in  towns. 

Section  a.   OHIO  LINE  to  LEXINGTON;  63.8  m.    US  68 

Between  the  Ohio  and  the  Licking  Rivers,  US  68  follows  an  old 
buffalo  trail  that  was  used  by  Simon  Kenton  and  other  early  travelers. 
It  was  known  as  Smith's  Wagon  Road,  because  in  the  summer  of  1783 
a  Lexington  man  named  Smith  took  a  wagon  over  it  for  the  first  time. 
The  route  by  1816  was  a  part  of  a  national  post  road  between  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  and  Florence,  Ala. 

New  scenes  unfold  along  the  way  at  almost  every  turn.  From  the 
hills  along  the  Ohio  River  there  is  a  gradual  transition  to  the  rolling 
bluegrass  meadows,  where  the  farms  are  larger  and  the  houses,  stand- 
ing back  from  the  road  at  the  end  of  avenues  bordered  with  fine  old 
trees,  are  more  spacious.  Along  the  roadside  are  stone  fences,  some- 
times old  and  crumbling  but  usually,  in  the  Bluegrass  region,  trim  and 


TOUR    15  363 

smooth.  Behind  them  splendid  stallions  or  complacent  mares  with 
their  long-legged  colts  graze  under  tall  oaks.  Stretching  for  miles  along 
the  highway  in  the  vicinity  of  Lexington,  the  Bluegrass  capital,  are 
broad  estates  with  stately  pillared  mansions — the  property  of  some  of 
the  leading  horse  breeders  and  racers  of  America. 

US  68  crosses  the  Ohio  Line,  0  m.,  at  the  edge  of  Aberdeen,  Ohio 
(see  Ohio  Tour  23),  passing  over  the  Ohio  River  on  a  bridge  (toll  25$). 

MAYSVILLE,  0.2  m.  (448  alt.,  6,557  pop.),  as  seen  from  the  Ohio 
side  of  the  river,  resembles  an  Italian  hill  town,  having  been  built  on 
the  steep  slope  of  the  riverbank,  terrace  on  terrace,  with  gray  walls  and 
red  roofs  against  a  green  background.  The  town,  at  the  mouth  of  Lime- 
stone Creek,  on  a  narrow  flood  plain,  is  leisurely  and  mellow,  preserving 
the  atmosphere  of  the  old  river  days.  Many  of  the  handsome  well- 
kept  homes,  on  the  sides  of  the  bluffs,  command  a  wide  view  of  the 
sweeping  bends  of  the  river  and  the  green  hills  and  fields  of  southern 
Ohio.  The  town,  first  known  as  Limestone,  was  established  by  the 
Virginia  Legislature  in  1787,  and  by  1792,  had  become  the  leading 
port  of  entry  of  the  State — "well  laid  out  and  flourishing."  Maysville's 
wealth  was  not  in  its  land-property,  but  in  the  steamers  on  the  river 
and  the  traffic  they  brought  to  it;  and  its  industrial  activity  was  en- 
tirely confined  to  shipping  and  ship  building.  In  those  days  mer- 
chandise came  down  the  Ohio  on  barges  to  Maysville  and  most  of  it 
was  hauled  into  central  Kentucky,  where  the  settlements  were.  The 
town  changed  its  name  from  Limestone  to  Maysville  to  honor  John 
May  of  Virginia,  on  whose  land  it  had  grown  up. 

At  one  time,  probably  in  the  spring  of  1786,  Daniel  Boone  and  his 
wife  opened  a  tavern  here.  They  remained  for  three  years,  Mrs.  Boone 
conducting  the  hostelry,  while  Daniel  hunted  and  trapped  as  usual,  and 
traded  up  and  down  the  Ohio. 

Maysville  has  been  the  seat  of  Mason  County  since  1848,  when  the 
growth  of  river  traffic  caused  it  to  forge  ahead  of  Washington,  the  first 
county  seat. 

The  MASON  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  Court  and  3d  Sts.,  is  an  imposing 
building,  erected  in  1838.  It  was  built  as  a  city  hall  and  served  as 
such  until  1848,  when  the  seat  of  county  government  was  moved  to 
this  place.  The  clock  in  the  tower  of  the  building,  made  by  a  black- 
smith of  Flemingsburg,  Kentucky,  in  1850,  was  constructed  almost 
entirely  of  wood  and  is  still  in  good  condition. 

The  small  one-story  brick  building  at  the  corner  of  2d  and  Wall  Sts. 
was  the  FIRST  MAYSVILLE  THEATER.  John  Palmer,  in  Travels  in  the 
United  States  in  1817,  said  that  the  building  was  adequate  but  "the 
scenery  and  performance  were  miserable."  Junius  Booth  and  many 
other  important  actors  trod  its  boards. 

The  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  Sutton  St.,  contains  a  curio  room  in  which  are 
kept  many  relics  of  early  settlers.  Back  of  the  library  is  the  town's 
first  graveyard. 

As  a  boy,  Ulysses  S.  Grant  attended  the  Rand  and  Richardson  School 


364  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

here  for  one  year.  The  library  has  a  minute  book  of  the  school  debat- 
ing society  bearing  his  name.  In  his  memoirs  he  speaks  of  making 
frequent  trips  to  this  place  during  his  youth  from  his  home  at  George- 
town, Ohio,  17  miles  away. 

The  COCHRAN  HOUSE,  16  W.  3d  St.,  the  home  of  Federal  Judge 
A.  M.  J.  Cochran,  was  built  in  1838  by  Judge  Cochran's  grandfather, 
Andrew  McConnell.  The  two-story  building  is  constructed  of  brick 
with  stepped  gable  ends  and  a  small  Doric  portico. 

On  top  of  a  hill  overlooking  the  Ohio  stands  the  REED  HOUSE,  the 
summer  home  of  Supreme  Court  Justice  Stanley  F.  Reed  (1938). 
Erected  prior  to  the  War  between  the  States,  this  spacious  two-story 
building,  constructed  of  logs  and  stone,  with  great  stone  chimneys,  was 
formerly  a  tavern. 

Maysville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14)  and  State  10 
(see  Tour  11).  US  68  and  US  62  are  united  between  this  point  and 
Washington. 

Left  from  Maysville  on  State  11,  which  winds  and  twists  around  the  tops  of  the 
river  bluffs  with  widespread  views  of  fertile  creek  bottoms  and  distant  blue-green 
hills.  Along  the  roadside  are  scattered  small  farms,  with  fields  of  corn,  wheat,  and 
tobacco,  and  hillside  apple  orchards.  The  soil  is  generally  rich  and  productive  but 
much  of  it  is  used  for  grazing,  because  the  wool  of  the  sheep  raised  here  brings  a 
good  price. 

FLEMINGSBURG,  18  m.  (850  alt.,  1,265  pop.),  is  a  quiet,  secluded  village  in 
the  Knobs  area.  Flemingsburg  and  Fleming  County,  of  which  it  is  the  seat,  were 
named  for  John  Fleming,  a  Virginian,  who,  with  his  half-brother,  George  Stockton, 
came  down  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe  to  Maysville  in  1787.  Both  built  stations  in  Flem- 
ing County,  Stockton  here  and  Fleming  five  miles  to  the  west.  Fleming  died  here 
in  1794,  as  the  result  of  a  wound  received  in  a  skirmish  with  Indians  at  Battle  Run. 

As  an  infant,  Stockton,  also  a  native  of  Virginia,  had  been  taken  captive  by  In- 
dians. His  years  among  the  natives  had  given  him  a  liking  for  the  wilderness  and 
when  he  left  the  tribe  he  determined  to  come  to  Kentucky.  In  1790  Stockton  and 
a  companion,  Beacham  Rhodes,  left  the  station  Stockton  had  established  here  for 
a  hunting  trip  along  Fox  Creek,  where  game  was  abundant.  One  night,  when  both 
men  were  asleep,  two  Indians  happened  on  their  camp,  killed  Stockton,  and 
wounded  his  companion  in  the  leg.  Fiercely  attacked  by  the  dogs,  the  Indians 
jumped  upon  the  hunters'  horses — the  main  objects  of  the  attack — and  fled. 
Beacham,  who  was  unable  to  walk,  crawled  back  to  the  fort,  a  distance  of  14 
miles,  to  warn  the  occupants  of  danger.  Friends  found  Stockton's  body,  guarded 
by  his  dog  who  had  worn  a  path  around  it  in  an  effort  to  keep  wild  animals  away, 
and  they  buried  it  where  it  lay.  A  cairn,  which  still  remains,  was  placed  above 
the  spot. 

The  spring  (R)  from  which  settlers  obtained  their  water,  and  the  old  graveyard 
(L),  opposite  the  spring,  are  at  the  northern  end  of  town. 

The  STUCCOED  COURTHOUSE,  on  an  eminence  at  the  head  of  Main  St.,  is  believed 
to  be  the  oldest  in  constant  use  in  the  State.  Its  clock  tower,  which  is  surmounted 
with  an  octagonal  cupola  and  low  spire,  dominates  the  town;  except  for  the  tower 
the  structure  looks  like  a  house  with  a  high  veranda.  The  red-brick  WILLIAM 
FLEMING  HOUSE  (L),  on  W.  Water  St.,  was  built  by  slaves.  The  woodwork  is 
hand-carved  and  the  rafters  are  of  cherry. 

In  Fleming  County  were  born  four  Governors — Alvin  Saunders  (1817-99),  the 
last  Territorial  Governor  of  Nebraska  (1861-67)  ;  Claiborne  F.  Jackson  (1807-62), 
Governor  of  Missouri  in  1861;  Willis  A.  Gorman  (1814-76),  second  Territorial 
Governor  of  Minnesota  (1853-57);  and  Richard  M.  Bishop  (1812-93),  Governor 
of  Ohio  (1878-80). 


TOUR    15  365 

1.  Left  from  Flemingsburg  10  m.  on  the  Wallingford  Rd.,  improved,  to  FOX 
SPRING,  formerly  a  well-known  summer  resort  that  became  popular  about  1840. 
In  the  valley  below  the  springs  is  PARK  LAKE,  a  summer  resort.     The  lake, 
which  covers  20  acres,  is  well  stocked  with  fish. 

2.  Left  from  Flemingsburg  5  m.  on  an  unmarked,  improved  road,  to  BLUE- 
BANKS,  where  the  road  passes  through  a  bowl-shaped  depression  in  the  earth, 
100  yards  in  diameter.    The  sides  of  the  bowl,  16  to  18  feet  in  height,  are  com- 
posed of  a  blue  clay. 

3.  Left  from  Flemingsburg  8  m.  on  the  Hillsboro  Rd.,  improved,  to  a  group  of 
unusual  STONE  BOWLS,  locally  called  Indian  kettles.     These  formations,  in  sand- 
stone and  having  definite  rims,  are  6  feet  in  diameter  and  9  to  12  inches  in  depth. 
Near  the  bowls  are  sandstone  discs,  6  feet  in  diameter  and  5  inches  thick,  resem- 
bling covers.    Their  purpose  and  origin  are  entirely  conjectural.    Kitchen  middens 
and  an  abundance  of  artifacts,  found  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  indicate  that  this 
was  the  site  of  an  Indian  village.     The  surrounding  region  has  yielded  additional 
artifacts  and  well-preserved  skeletons. 

South  of  Maysville  the  highway  rises  steeply  in  curves  from  the  river 
to  the  rolling  Bluegrass  downs. 

The  MAYSVILLE  COUNTRY  CLUB  (open  to  public),  1.8  m.,  on  top  of 
a  high  hill  (R),  overlooks  the  Ohio  River  and  has  a  nine-hole  golf 
course  (greens  jee,  $1). 

A  granite  marker  (R),  2.5  m.,  erected  in  1925  by  the  Washington 
Study  Club,  commemorates  KENTON'S  STATION,  a  stockaded  trading 
post  built  by  Simon  Kenton. 

Simon  Kenton  (1755-1836)  ranks  with  Jim  Bridger  of  the  later  West 
as  a  typical  frontiersman.  When  he  was  16  he  believed  he  had  killed 
a  rival  in  a  fist  fight  and  fled  into  the  wilderness.  Managing  to  survive 
without  supplies  or  weapons,  he  was  soon  beyond  the  country  of  law 
and  order.  When  he  next  bobbed  up  at  a  frontier  post  he  called  himself 
Samuel  Butler  and,  before  long,  had  joined  George  Yeager  and  John 
Strader  on  a  hunting  expedition  down  the  Ohio,  which  ended  when 
they  were  attacked  by  Indians.  He  made  another  trip  or  so  down  the 
Ohio  and  then  in  1774  entered  the  service  of  Lord  Dunmore  as  a  spy. 
In  1775  he  was  once  more  down  the  Ohio  hunting  for  the  cane  lands 
of  Kain-tuck-ee,  of  which  he  had  heard  from  the  Indians.  On  this 
trip  he  met  Daniel  Boone  on  the  Limestone  and  for  a  time  joined  the 
little  settlement  at  Boonesboro,  where  he  was  very  useful  during  the 
Indian  attack.  But,  like  the  trappers  of  the  later  West,  domesticity 
irked  him,  so  in  1778  he  joined  the  expedition  led  by  George  Rogers 
Clark  against  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes.  When  that  expedition  ended 
he  joined  Boone  in  the  attack  on  Chillicothe.  Then  for  a  period  he 
was  in  continual  trouble  with  the  Indians;  he  was  captured,  saved  by 
a  white  renegade,  condemned  and  then  reprieved  through  the  inter- 
ference of  a  Mingo  chief  and  a  Canadian  trapper.  But  his  troubles 
were  not  over;  the  British  held  him  a  prisoner  at  Detroit  until  he 
escaped.  Still  unable  to  keep  away  from  danger,  in  1780  he  joined  a 
company  of  volunteers  from  Harrod's  Station  for  the  attack  on  the 
Indians  that  ended  at  Piqua.  About  this  time  he  learned  that  the  man 


366  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

he  believed  he  had  killed  was  still  alive,  so  he  went  back  to  Virginia  to 
visit  his  parents. 

His  stories  of  the  fertility  of  Kentucky  soil  persuaded  them  to  come 
West  with  him.  But  the  arrival  of  his  family  did~not  hold  him  here; 
in  1787  he  joined  another  expedition  against  the  Indians,  and  in  1793 
yet  another.  In  1799  he  settled — as  much  as  he  was  able  to — in  Ohio, 
where  he  was  soon  in  the  militia.  In  the  War  of  1812  he  was  again 
fighting  with  Kentuckians.  Like  everyone  else  of  his  day,  he  dreamed 
of  holding  vast  quantities  of  land — and  no  one  had  a  better  chance 
than  he  to  discover  the  best.  But,  like  Boone  and  most  other  trappers 
and  scouts,  he  was  never  able  to  master  the  game  of  making  his  claims 
stick;  he  died  in  poverty  at  the  age  of  81.  Before  his  death  his  prowess 
had  assumed  almost  legendary  proportions  and  numerous  people  of 
importance  liked  to  boast  of  their  acquaintance  with  him. 

Town  and  counties  carry  the  name  of  Kenton;  the  Ohio  and  the 
Kentucky  Legislatures  voted  money  for  monuments  and  quarreled  over 
his  body,  which  was  finally  reinterred  at  Urbana,  Ohio.  There  in  1884 
a  monument,  designed  by  John  Quincy  Adams  Ward,  was  erected  to 
his  memory. 

WASHINGTON,  4.1  m.  (500  pop.),  a  charming  village  with  slow- 
moving  tempo,  was  once  a  "center  of  fashion  and  education,"  and  the 
second  largest  town  in  the  State.  Created  a  municipality  by  the  Vir- 
ginia Legislature  in  1786,  the  town  was  laid  out  on  a  well-selected  sec- 
tion of  the  700-acre  tract  of  cane  land  belonging  to  Simon  Kenton. 
Among  the  streets  of  Washington,  which  retain  their  early  names,  is  one 
called  Kenton's  Line. 

Washington  came  into  existence  because  the  hill  at  Maysville  was 
so  long  and  difficult  that  it  required  an  entire  day  sometimes  to  bring 
heavily  loaded  wagons  to  the  top.  Travelers  and  teamsters  usually 
spent  the  night  at  the  crest  of  the  hill  or  at  least  stopped  there  for 
refreshments.  Until  1793,  when  Indian  raids  in  Kentucky  ceased,  the 
place  had  been  a  rendezvous  for  volunteers  led  by  Kenton  to  forestall 
attacks  by  the  Indians,  who  often  crossed  the  Ohio  at  this  point.  The 
town  grew  rapidly  during  the  early  years  of  its  existence,  when  it  was 
the  principal  place  of  trade  for  a  wide  area.  The  Mirror,  third  news- 
paper in  Kentucky,  was  established  here  in  1797. 

The  first  county  court  in  Mason  County  met  in  the  house  of  Robert 
Rankin,  May  26,  1789.  Among  other  acts,  it  adopted  the  following 
rates  for  tavern  keepers: 

s.d. 

A  warm  dinner 13 

A  cold  dinner  13 

A  warm  breakfast,  with  tea  or  coffee,  etc 13 

A  cold  breakfast,  with  tea  or  coffee,  etc 10 

Lodging,  with  clean  sheets  . 09 

Stablage  and  hay,  per  night 13 


TOUR    15  367 

s.d. 

Pasturage,  per  night 06 

Corn,  per  gallon  08 

Whisky,  per  half  pint   09 

West  India  Rum,  per  half  pint 10 

Continent  Rum,  per  half  pint 09 

Apple  or  Peach  Brandy  per  half  pint 09 

Madeira  Wine,  per  qt 09 

(A  Kentucky  shilling  was  12%  cents.) 

The  first  courthouse,  a  massive  stone  building  erected  in  1794  by 
Louis  Craig  (see  Tour  3),  the  Virginia  minister  who  brought  the  Travel- 
ing Baptist  Church  to  Kentucky,  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1909.  It 
had  not  been  used  as  a  co.urthouse  since  1848,  when  the  county  seat 
was  moved  to  Maysville.  On  Main  St.  is  (L)  the  clapboarded  log 
building  that  was  the  FIRST  KENTUCKY  POST  OFFICE,  the  distributing 
point  for  mail  for  Kentucky  and  the  Northwest  Territory  (now  the 
States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin).  Near  by 
is  the  old  building  (R)  that  was  the  BRANCH  BANK  OF  KENTUCKY, 
first  bank  in  northern  Kentucky.  Gen.  Henry  Lee,  farmer  and  sur- 
veyor from  Virginia,  was  its  first  president. 

The  MARSHALL  KEY  PLACE  (open  on  request),  a  two-story  brick 
house  (L),  has  a  recessed  entrance  at  one  side  of  the  front  and  a 
beautiful  old  stairway.  During  a  visit  here,  Harriet  Beecher  (later  Mrs. 
Stowe),  who  was  a  schoolmate  of  Key's  daughter  in  Cincinnati,  wit- 
nessed sales  on  the  SLAVE  BLOCK  that  still  stands  on  the  courthouse 
green. 

CEDAR  HILL,  a  two-story  house  with  wide  veranda  across  the  front, 
was  built  in  1807  by  John  Chambers,  who  was  appointed  Territorial 
Governor  of  Iowa  (1841-45)  by  President  William  Henry  Harrison. 
It  stands  among  tall  cedars  on  a  hill  overlooking  Washington.  Cham- 
bers (1780-1852)  was  brought  to  Washington  from  Lexington  by  his 
family  when  he  was  14  years  old.  He  later  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  began  practice  in  this  town.  In  the  War  of  1812  he 
was  aide-de-camp  to  General  Harrison.  He  served  in  Congress  as  a 
Whig  from  1828  to  1829,  and  from  1835  to  1839.  He  is  buried  in  the 
family  burial  ground  near  his  old  home. 

Another  dignified  house,  THE  HILL  (open),  was  built  in  1800  by 
Thomas  Marshall,  Jr.,  brother  of  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall.  In  1785 
Col.  Thomas  Marshall,  who  had  become  Surveyor  General  of  Ken- 
tucky in  1780,  came  down  the  Ohio  River  in  a  flatboat  "with  a  numer- 
ous family"  and  established  a  home  in  these  cane  lands.  The  two- 
story  brick  house,  Georgian  in  style,  has  a  pedimented  central  bay  and 
a  simple  one-story  central  porch.  In  the  family  burial  grounds  near  by 
is  the  GRAVE  OF  THOMAS  MARSHALL,  SR.,  and  that  of  his  wife.  The 
inscription  on  the  tombstone  marking  the  GRAVE  OF  MARY  MARSHALL, 
mother  of  the  Chief  Justice,  reads:  "Mary  Randolph  Keith  b.  1737. 


368  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

She  was  good,  not  brilliant,  useful,  not  ornamental,  and  the  mother  of 
IS  children." 

The  JOHNSTON  HOUSE  (L),  a  two-story  clapboarded  structure  with 
lean-to  porch  at  one  side,  was  the  birthplace  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston 
(1802-62),  Confederate  leader  whose  father,  Dr.  John  Johnston,  came 
from  Cincinnati  in  1785  and  was  the  first  physician  in  the  town. 

Albert  Sidney  Johnston  was  graduated  from  West  Point  in  1826. 
He  served  in  the  Black  Hawk  War,  later  enlisted  in  the  service  of 
Texas,  and  was  made  commander  in  chief  of  its  forces.  In  1839  he 
became  Secretary  of  War  of  the  Republic  of  Texas. 

When  the  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  broke  out  in 
1846,  Johnston  was  engaged  in  cotton  growing  in  Texas.  He  at  once 
organized  the  1st  Regiment  of  Texas  Infantry,  and  was  soon  afterward 
made  inspector  general  of  Butler's  division.  In  1849  Johnston  was  ap- 
pointed paymaster  of  the  United  States  Army  on  the  Texas  border, 
and  in  1854  became  colonel  of  the  2d  United  States  Cavalry,  with 
Robert  E.  Lee  as  lieutenant  colonel,  commanding  the  Department  of 
Texas. 

In  1858  Johnston  commanded  the  United  States  expedition  into 
Utah,  which  spent  an  unpleasant  winter  near  Fort  Bridger  before  mak- 
ing peace  terms  with  the  Mormons.  Johnston  was  then  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  Department  of  California.  In  1861  he  resigned 
from  the  U.S.  Army  to  join  the  Confederate  Army. 

General  Johnston  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Confederate  Army  of 
the  West  in  1861  and  the  following  year  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of 
Shiloh  while  leading  a  charge  against  the  "Hornets'  nest." 

On  Duke  of  York  St.  was  the  old  Franklin  Academy,  no  longer  in 
existence;  it  was  established  soon  after  Transylvania.  Another  early 
school,  which  taught  young  ladies  aall  the  arts  suited  to  their  sex," 
was  conducted  here  by  Carolyn  Warburton  Fitz-Herbert  Keats,  whose 
husband  was  a  cousin  of  John  Keats,  the  English  poet.  The  vine- 
covered  two-story  brick  McMuRDY  SCHOOL  (L)  was  attended  not 
only  by  Kentuckians  but  also  by  girls  from  other  States. 

COVERED  WELLS  at  regular  intervals  in  the  center  of  the  sidewalks 
of  Washington  are  remnants  of  the  "first  waterworks  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies."  Early  in  the  history  of  the  town  the  legislature  voted  the 
sum  of  $1,000  for  "adequate  water  protection"  for  the  rapidly  growing 
town,  and  22  wells  were  dug,  some  of  which  have  been  restored  by  the 
Washington  Study  Club. 

Washington  is  at  the  southern  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14). 

MAYS  LICK,  12.1  m.  (327  pop.),  was  named  for  John  May,  a  Vir- 
ginian who  was  first  surveyor  of  Kenton  County,  and  claimed  land  here, 
as  well  as  a  salt  lick  near  by.  The  place  was  first  called  May's  Spring, 
because  of  the  large  spring  on  what  became  a  noted  camping  ground  in 
early  days  and  "one  of  the  finest  places  on  the  north  side  of  the  Lick- 
ing," according  to  an  old  chronicler.  It  numbered  among  its  early 


TOUR    15  369 

settlers  some  whose  families  were  later  among  the  most  influential  of 
the  State. 

South  of  Mays  Lick  the  road  winds  down  to  the  valley  of  the  Licking 
River  on  which,  after  spring  freshets,  logs  are  still  floated  down  from 
the  mountains. 

BLUE  LICKS  BATTLEFIELD  STATE  PARK  (R),  23.3  m.,  is  the 
site  of  the  bloody  battle  of  August  19,  1782,  that  ended  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  in  the  West.  A  granite  shaft  bears  the  names  of  those  who 
fell  in  this  battle;  the  PIONEER  MUSEUM  (adults  15$,  children  5$) 
houses  many  relics,  including  the  Hunter  Collection  of  prehistoric  re- 
mains unearthed  at  the  licks.  An  improved  road  and  trails  wind 
through  the  park. 

In  the  spring  of  1782  the  British  Capt.  William  Caldwell  collected 
nearly  1,000  Indians  and  about  50  whites  in  southern  Ohio  for  a  raid 
upon  the  comparatively  unprotected  and  weak  settlements  in  the  Blue- 
grass  region  of  central  Kentucky.  Quarrels  broke  out  among  the  In- 
dians and  numbers  deserted,  but  Captain  Caldwell,  with  the  notorious 
renegade,  Girty,  were  still  supported  by  the  whites  and  several  hundred 
Indians.  Moving  swiftly,  this  force  crossed  the  Ohio  and  on  August 
16,  1782,  struck  the  feeble  little  frontier  outpost  of  Bryan  Station 
about  six  miles  northeast  of  Lexington.  Caldwell  and  his  allies  met 
stout  opposition.  Two  days — time  sufficient  to  arouse  the  settlers  on 
farms  and  villages  to  the  southward — were  lost  in  a  fruitless  effort  to 
storm  the  little  stockaded  fort,  where  men,  women,  and  children  deter- 
minedly fought  on,  waiting  for  the  help  they  knew  was  coming.  Aware 
that  further  penetration  into  the  Bluegrass  country  would  lead  only  to 
disaster,  Caldwell's  army  retreated  toward  the  Ohio.  The  garrison  of 
Bryan  Station,  reinforced  by  volunteers  to  a  total  of  nearly  200 
mounted  men,  followed  the  retreating  enemy.  Within  24  hours  this 
pursuing  force,  under  command  of  Major  Todd,  overtook  the  invaders 
at  this  place. 

A  council  of  war  was  held  by  the  pioneers  at  the  ford;  Boone  advised 
that  they  delay  the  attack  and  wait  for  reinforcements.  Todd,  Trigg, 
and  most  of  the  other  leaders  agreed  with  him;  but  it  is  said  that  the 
hot-headed  Maj.  Hugh  McGary,  who  possessed  little  military  training, 
dared  the  young  men  to  follow  him  and  spurred  his  horse  into  the  river. 
The  younger  men  followed,  leaving  the  leaders  of  the  band  no  choice 
but  to  accompany  them.  The  Kentuckians,  outnumbered  three  to  one, 
were  ambushed  and  cut  down.  In  a  fierce  battle,  lasting  but  15  min- 
utes, 60  of  the  176  combatants  were  killed  and  7  were  taken  prisoners; 
the  rest  escaped.  Todd,  Trigg,  and  Boone's  son,  Israel,  were  among 
those  killed ;  Boone  escaped  by  swimming  the  river.  But  it  was  a  boot- 
less victory  for  the  invaders.  Volunteers  from  all  the  Bluegrass  set- 
tlements were  racing  northward.  Before  the  pioneers  could  strike, 
Caldwell  and  Girty  fled  across  the  Ohio,  and  Kentucky  soil  was  clear 
of  the  invaders.  George  Rogers  Clark's  seasoned  veterans,  who  had 
been  massed  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  took  up  the  uncompleted  work 


37O  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

of  the  militia.  With  1,100  Kentuckians  he  swept  up  the  Miami  Valley, 
burning  Indian  villages,  laying  waste  their  cornfields,  clearing  out  the 
natives  to  make  way  for  the  white  invaders  who  soon  arrived  to  settle 
the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio. 

Near  by  is  (R)  the  SITE  OF  BLUE  LICKS  SPRINGS  TAVERN,  once  a 
popular  stop  on  the  stagecoach  route  between  Maysville  and  Lexington 
as  well  as  a  resort.  People  journeyed  to  this  place  from  the  North  and 
the  South  in  order  to  drink  the  health-giving  waters.  In  April  1862 
the  main  building,  which  could  accommodate  from  400  to  600  guests, 
was  destroyed  by  fire.  Later  it  was  replaced  by  a  smaller  structure, 
but  the  prestige  of  the  old  resort  died  with  the  passing  of  the  stage- 
coach era. 

The  old  BLUE  LICK  CHURCH  (R),  23.8  m.,  built  in  1864,  is  a  rec- 
tangular frame  structure  with  twin  doors  in  the  fagade.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  pine  trees. 

FOREST  RETREAT  (R),  31.7  m.,  was  the  home,  during  his  later  years, 
of  Thomas  Metcalfe  (1780-1855),  tenth  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1829- 
33).  He  had  been  a  captain  in  the  War  of  1812,  a  Representative  in 
Congress  from  1819  to  1828,  and  United  States  Senator  from  1848  to 
1849.  Metcalfe  earned  his  sobriquet,  "Old  Stone  Hammer,"  because 
of  his  vehemence  as  an  orator  and  his  skill  as  a  stonemason ;  he  erected 
stone  buildings  throughout  the  State,  including  the  courthouse  at 
Greensburg,  which  is  still  standing,  and  the  Governor's  mansion  at 
Frankfort.  THOMAS  METCALFE'S  GRAVE  is  in  the  family  burial  ground 
here. 

Forest  Retreat  is  old,  though  the  actual  date  of  erection  is  not  known. 
It  is  a  low,  gabled,  story-and-a-half  dwelling  of  stone  with  gabled  front 
dormers  and  small  wings.  Its  center  hall  plan  is  typical  of  the  southern 
Colonial  architecture  of  the  seaboard  States.  The  shallow  pedimented 
portico  on  the  front,  with  its  slender  turned  posts,  is  of  a  later  date 
than  the  house.  Many  noted  visitors  stopped  here,  glad  to  accept  the 
hospitality  of  the  genial  host  in  those  days  when  inns  were  not  always 
comfortable  along  this  single  road  between  the  Ohio  River  and  central 
Kentucky.  Andrew  Jackson,  who  visited  here  in  1829  while  on  his 
way  to  Washington  for  his  first  inauguration,  remarked  that  Metcalfe 
fed  him  better  than  anyone  he  had  ever  met.  Gen.  William  Henry 
Harrison  also  stayed  at  Forest  Retreat  for  some  time  in  1840,  while 
campaigning  for  the  Presidency,  and  Henry  Clay  often  stopped  for 
"refreshments" — from  the  barrel  of  old  bourbon,  kept  under  the  stair- 
way for  convenience.  When  James  G.  Blaine,  an  unsuccessful  candi- 
date for  the  Presidency  in  1884,  was  teaching  at  the  military  school  at 
Lower  Blue  Licks  Spring,  Forest  Retreat  was  his  home. 

In  MILLERSBURG,  37.6  m.  (770  pop.),  tree-shaded  streets  are 
lined  with  comfortable  houses  on  large  lawns.  Established  in  1817, 
the  town  was  named  for  the  Reverend  John  Miller,  founder  of  Millers- 
burg  Female  Seminary.  The  MILLERSBURG  MILITARY  INSTITUTE  (R) 
is  a  privately  owned  secondary  school. 


TOUR    15  371 

South  of  Millersburg  is  the  heart  of  the  Bluegrass,  with  gently  un- 
dulating surface  and  fertile  soil. 

The  GRANGE  (L),  42  m.,  built  in  1818,  is  a  one-and-a-half-story 
house  having  a  Doric  portico,  handsome  dormers,  and  a  deep-set  door- 
way with  fan-  and  side-lights.  An  unusual  feature  is  the  slightly  curved 
front  walls  of  the  pavilions,  pierced  by  Palladian  windows  with  fluted 
frames  and  with  shutters  designed  to  cover  side  lights  as  well  as  the 
central  window.  The  stairway  has  delicate  balusters,  newel  post,  and 
handrail.  This  house  was  built  for  Ned  Stone,  a  slave  dealer,  who  was 
slain  during  a  mutiny  aboard  a  slave  ship  bound  for  New  Orleans. 
A  short  distance  from  the  house  is  the  old  brick  house  used  for  slaves. 
Beneath  its  central  hall  is  a  dungeon  with  walls  of  solid  stone,  in  which 
unruly  captives  were  kept. 

At  44.7  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17). 

The  highway  crosses  STONER  CREEK,  45.7  m.,  a  tributary  of 
Licking  River,  named  in  honor  of  Michael  Stoner  (1748-1812),  a  com- 
panion of  Daniel  Boone.  The  first  bridge  over  this  creek  was  built 
in  1795. 

PARIS,  45.9  m.  (826  alt.,  6,204  pop.),  is  the  seat  of  Bourbon  County, 
an  unusually  fertile  agricultural  area.  The  town,  known  as  Hopewell 
when  it  was  established  in  1789,  was  later  called  Paris  in  appreciation 
of  French  aid  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  first  court  was  held 
in  May  1786  in  the  old  rock  house,  Fairfield.  In  the  same  year  a 
courthouse  was  erected  with  a  jail  16  feet  square.  Among  the  old 
records,  preserved  in  the  courthouse,  are  those  of  several  suits  for  debts 
against  Daniel  Boone,  then  a  resident  of  Maysville,  and  against  Simon 
Kenton,  a  resident  of  Washington.  At  that  time  both  of  these  were 
in  Bourbon  County. 

At  Paris  in  1790  Jacob  Spears  and  others  from  Pennsylvania  erected 
one  of  the  State's  earliest  distilleries.  The  whisky  made  here  was 
called  bourbon  for  the  county.  Later  the  name  bourbon  was  applied 
to  any  whisky  made  of  corn  according  to  this  distillery's  formula  which 
produced  a  heavy-bodied,  mellow  liquor  of  a  deep  amber  color.  In 
the  crude  early  distilleries  all  the  work  except  grinding  was  done  by 
hand.  These  plants  were  always  near  a  good  spring,  and  the  use  of 
limestone  water  contributed  to  the  distinctive  flavor  of  Kentucky 
whisky.  Only  the  five  general  steps — grinding  grain,  mashing,  ferment- 
ing, distilling,  and  aging — were  commonly  known.  The  actual  formulas 
were  guarded  carefully  and  bequeathed  by  their  owners  to  their  heirs. 
Many  Kentucky  distillers  continue  to  employ  the  hand  processes,  be- 
lieving the  unusual  flavor  and  bouquet  would  be  lost  if  they  should 
adopt  modern  methods. 

Paris,  a  leading  bluegrass-seed  market,  has  four  seed-cleaning  plants. 
A  yearly  average  of  700,000  bushels  of  bluegrass-seed  are  bought, 
cleaned,  and  sold,  much  of  it  being  exported. 

A  granite  shaft  marks  DOYLES  SPRING  (R),  on  2d  St.,  about  which 
the  little  log-cabin  settlement  that  was  to  become  Paris  developed,  as 


372  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

wagoners,  traveling  with  supplies  between  Maysville  and  Lexington, 
stopped  here  for  the  pure  water  and  pasturage.  The  expression  of  the 
drivers,  "Hope  we'll  get  there  before  night,"  is  said  to  explain  the  first 
name  of  the  settlement,  Hopewell. 

The  Indian  Queen,  first  hotel  in  Paris,  was  erected  in  1804,  and 
served  travelers  on  the  Maysville-Lexington  stagecoach  route.  It  has 
been  incorporated  in  the  WINDSOR  HOTEL  (L),  on  Main  St. 

The  BURR  HOUSE  (R)  on  High  St.  was  the  birthplace  of  Joseph 
Duncan,  Governor  of  Illinois  (1834-38).  The  roof  of  this  stone  two- 
and-a-half-story  building  is  pierced  by  two  dormers;  a  front  gable  has 
a  half -moon  window.  For  a  time  the  house  was  an  inn  conducted  by 
the  Widow  Burr.  Here  in  the  long  dining  room  the  youth  of  Hopewell 
gathered  to  dance  the  Virginia  reel,  and  here  the  first  dramatic  per- 
formances of  the  town  were  given  in  1807. 

William  Holmes  McGuffey  (1800-73),  compiler  of  the  famous  read- 
ers, taught  school  in  Paris  about  1822. 

Paris  is  at  the  junction  with  US  27  (see  Tour  3),  State  40  (see  Tour 
17),  and  US  227  (see  Tour  17 A).  Between  Paris  and  Lexington  US  68 
and  US  27  are  united. 

1.  Right  from  Paris  on  the  Peacock  Rd.  to  MOUNT  LEBANON  (L),  3  m.,  sur- 
rounded by  century-old  cedar  trees,  is  the  home  of  Gov.  James  Garrard  (1796- 
1804)  ;  it  was  built  in  1786.    The  exterior  walls  of  the  tall,  angular  structure  are 
of  stone.    The  S-shaped  anchor  heads  on  the  front  wall  mark  the  reinforcing  tim- 
bers embedded  by  Governor  Garrard  after  the  house  had  been  damaged  by  the 
earthquake  of  1811.    Much  of  the  framework  is  hand-hewn  and  held  together  by 
wooden  pegs;  all  the  woodwork  is  of  ash,  and  in  excellent  condition. 

Across  Stoner  Creek  on  the  same  tract  is  the  old  rock  house,  FAIRFIELD,  the  first 
house  built  by  Garrard.  In  it  the  first  court  in  Bourbon  County  was  held.  Gar- 
rard and  his  wife  and  daughter  are  buried  in  the  family  burial  ground  here. 

2.  Left  from  Paris  on  the  Cane  Ridge  Pike,  an  improved  road,  to  the  BREST 
TAVERN  (open),  4  m.,  built  (L)  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.    The  story  is  told 
that  Brest  kept  his  accounts  written  on  his  whitewashed  walls  and  when  on  one 
occasion  his  wife,  while  spring-cleaning,  applied  a  fresh  coat  of  whitewash,  he  re- 
garded himself  as  ruined  until  his  patrons  voluntarily  paid  their  debts. 

CANE  RIDGE  MEETING  HOUSE  (open),  6  m.,  though  built  in  1791  by  Presbyte- 
rians from  North  Carolina,  is  the  parent  church  of  the  Christian  denomination  in 
Kentucky,  otherwise  known  as  the  Disciples  of  Christ.  After  the  major  part  of 
the  congregation  and  their  pastor,  the  Reverend  Robert  W.  Finley,  had  migrated 
to  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  in  1796,  the  Reverend  Barton  W.  Stone  became  pastor  of  the 
Cane  Ridge  Meeting  House.  This  was  about  the  time  that  the  "profound  awak- 
ening" or  religious  revival  swept  Kentucky.  The  movement  first  took  root  in 
western  Kentucky,  centering  in  Logan  County  where  Stone  went,  in  the  spring  of 
1800,  to  attend  a  meeting  conducted  by  the  McGhee  brothers,  one  a  Presbyterian 
and  the  other  a  Methodist.  This  joint  occupancy  of  the  same  pulpit  by  two  min- 
isters with  differing  denominational  views  attracted  such  large  crowds  that  the 
services  had  to  be  held  out  of  doors.  In  August  1801  the  Cane  Ridge  Meeting 
led  by  Stone  held  a  revival  that  was  described  as  the  "most  remarkable  religious 
assemblage  ever  known  on  the  continent."  The  congregation,  numbering  between 
twenty  and  thirty  thousand,  met  outside  the  church  in  the  flickering  light  of 
torches,  to  chant  hymns,  pray,  and  listen  to  five  or  more  men  preach  simultane- 
ously. During  the  impassioned  exhortations  the  people  sobbed,  shrieked,  and 
shouted  until  the  whole  throng  reached  a  hysterical  pitch  of  fervor  and  excitement. 


TOUR  15  373 

Many  were  seized  by  spasms  that  caused  them  to  fall  to  the  ground,  where  they 
lay  as  if  dead.  Others  jerked,  danced,  barked,  laughed,  or  sang.  After  the  con- 
verts had  revived,  they  shouted  joyously  that  they  had  been  saved. 

The  established  churches  did  not  welcome  these  converts  graciously,  and  as  a 
consequence  churches  were  often  split  or  new  congregations  were  formed.  Barton 
W.  Stone  found  himself  involved  in  a  controversy  with  the  presbytery  of  which  he 
was  a  member.  In  1804  he  and  his  congregation  at  Cane  Ridge  withdrew  from 
the  Presbyterian  fellowship  and  organized  an  independent  church  to  which  they 
gave  the  name  Christian.  Similar  splits  and  the  organization  of  other  independent 
churches  followed  all  over  the  State.  Thus  a  new  Protestant  sect,  now  ranking 
fifth  in  membership  in  the  State,  was  born  in  Kentucky. 

A  similar  movement  later  took  place  in  Pennsylvania  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Reverend  Thomas  Campbell  and  his  son,  Alexander,  who  came  to  Kentucky  and 
organized  churches  to  which  he  gave  the  name  Disciples  of  Christ.  Stone  and 
Campbell  found  themselves  in  essential  agreement  and  finally  merged  their  organi- 
zations in  1832,  but  the  Kentucky  churches  that  entered  the  merger  retained  the 
name  Christian,  though  they  are  officially  affiliated  with  the  denomination  known 
as  the  Disciples  of  Christ. 

The  Cane  Ridge  building  is  constructed  of  ash  logs  chinked  with  mud  on  a  foun- 
dation of  local  stone.  The  flooring  is  of  oak,  and  hand-split  oak  shakes,  four  feet 
long,  cover  the  roof.  In  1829  the  building  was  weatherboarded,  lathed,  and  plas- 
tered. Originally  it  contained  a  massive  balcony  that  was  almost  half  as  large  as 
the  main  floor  and  was  reached  from  the  outside  by  a  ladder.  This  balcony,  with 
its  cherry  railing,  was  torn  down  in  1829  and  the  timbers  were  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  barn  near  by.  An  attempt  has  been  made  in  recent  years  to  restore 
the  meeting  house.  It  is  planned  (1939)  to  use  some  of  the  timbers  that  have 
been  preserved  in  the  old  barn  in  reconstructing  the  balcony. 

Between  Paris  and  Lexington  the  route  is  through  a  corner  of  Ken- 
tucky's horse-breeding  area.  Here  fine  country  mansions  stand  far  back 
from  the  road  at  the  end  of  avenues  lined  with  trees.  The  white-fenced 
paddocks,  green  grazing  lands,  and  landscaped  grounds  combine  to  make 
this  17  miles  resemble  a  large  park. 

GREENTREE  (L)  is  at  56.7  m.  (see  Lexington). 

At  57.1  m.  (R)  is  ELMENDORF  (see  Lexington). 

Across  the  road  from  the  Widener  estate  at  57.5  m.  is  the  C.  V.  WHIT- 
NEY FARM  (see  Lexington). 

At  58.1  m.  is  (L)  LLANGOLLEN  ( see  Lexington)  and  the  junction  with 
Johnston  Rd.,  improved. 

Left  on  this  road  to  BRYAN  STATION,  5  m.,  where  there  is  a  memorial,  a 
stone  wall  four  feet  in  height,  octagonal  in  form,  around  the  spring  that  supplied 
water  to  the  defenders  of  the  station  when  it  was  besieged  in  1782  by  a  band  of 
Indians  under  the  leadership  of  Capt.  William  Caldwell  and  the  renegade  Simon 
Girty.  Sweeping  westward  toward  Lexington,  the  invaders,  on  the  evening  of 
August  IS,  1782,  secretly  surrounded  Bryan  Station,  anticipating  an  easy  victory 
when  they  should  attack  on  the  morrow. 

There  is  a  story,  the  authenticity  of  which  is  disputed,  that  the  little  company 
found  itself  with  too  little  water  to  withstand  a  long  siege  and  determined  to  risk 
sending  the  women  out  in  the  early  morning  to  obtain  a  supply;  they  were  to  act 
as  though  they  did  not  know  that  the  enemy  was  in  the  canebrake  around  the 
spring.  According  to  the  story,  the  women  carried  out  the  plan,  walking  out  and 
back  again  without  undue  haste.  There  is  no  explanation  of  why  the  enemy  failed 
to  attack  at  this  time.  Later  about  100  Indians  appeared  openly  and  a  group  of 
settlers  came  out  and  fired  on  them.  Immediately  the  hidden  Girty  and  the  re- 


374  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

mainder  of  the  band  attempted  to  take  the  station  by  storm.  They  were  met  by 
gunfire  from  the  post. 

All  that  day  and  the  next  the  siege  continued.  On  the  first  afternoon  reinforce- 
ments arrived  from  Lexington  and  Boone  Station  and  fought  their  way  into  the 
fort.  Girty's  men,  failing  to  take  the  fort  within  the  twor  days,  and  fearing  the 
arrival  of  more  troops,  retreated  toward  the  Ohio  River,  pursued  by  the  defending 
garrison  and  other  troops.  At  the  Battle  of  Blue  Licks  the  Kentuckians  were  am- 
buscaded and  cut  down.  In  spite  of  this  disaster  the  defense  of  Bryan  Station 
halted  the  invasion  of  Kentucky  and  resulted  in  the  withdrawal  of  the  British 
allies. 

Just  beyond  the  memorial  and  across  the  railroad  is  BRYAN  STATION  HOUSE,  on 
a  hill  above  fields  and  woods.  The  excellent  condition  of  this  white-painted,  brick 
dwelling,  erected  in  1797,  belies  its  age.  It  is  a  story  and  a  half  high.  The  half 
story  is  formed  by  a  steep  shingled  roof,  the  severity  of  which  is  relieved  by  three 
dormers.  A  wide  porch,  added  in  recent  years,  extends  across  the  front.  At  the 
right  is  the  original  porch,  which  has  square  columns  of  hickory.  From  this  porch 
is  an  excellent  view  of  the  Elkhorn  Creek  Valley.  In  the  yard  is  the  outline  of 
the  stockade  surrounding  the  station  for  which  the  house  was  named. 

A  private  driveway  (L),  59.6  m.,  leads  to  the  LEXINGTON  COUNTRY 
CLUBHOUSE,  on  a  knoll  surrounded  by  an  extensive,  well-kept,  shady 
lawn.  It  commands  a  broad  view  of  the  meadows  around  the  head- 
waters of  North  Elkhorn  Creek. 

Opposite  the  clubhouse  is  the  entrance  (through  Swigert  Lane)  to 
HAYLANDS  (grounds  open)  (R),  owned  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Daingerfield. 
Haylands  is  the  home  of  Morvich,  winner  of  the  Kentucky  Derby  in 
1922. 

LEXINGTON,  63.8  m.  (957  alt.,  45,736  pop.)  (see  Lexington). 

Points  of  Interest:  Homes  of  Henry  Clay,  Gen.  John  Hunt  Morgan,  Mary  Todd 
Lincoln,  and  John  Bradford ;  Transylvania  College ;  University  of  Kentucky ;  loose- 
leaf  tobacco  market,  and  others. 

Lexington  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  US  25  (see 
Tour  4),  and  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 

Section  b.    LEXINGTON  to  BOWLING  GREEN  173.5  m.  US  68. 

Southwest  of  LEXINGTON,  0  m.,  US  68  runs  through  a  varied 
country.  Parklike  grounds  and  wide  bluegrass  meadows  contrast  with 
the  tree-crowned  cliffs  of  the  Kentucky  River's  majestic  gorge.  Along 
the  route  are  towns  containing  fine  old  mansions  and  State  parks  and 
battlefields. 

At  2.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  Lane  Allen  Rd. 

Right  on  this  road  to  SCARLET  GATE  1  m.,  now  a  stock  farm  but  formerly  the 
home  of  James  Lane  Allen.  The  two-story  house  has  one-story  wings,  one  of 
which  is  now  a  garage.  The  one-story  Doric  portico  relieves  the  simplicity  of  the 
faqade. 

James  Lane  Allen  (1849-1925),  author  of  the  Choir  Invisible,  Reign  of  Law  and 
other  widely  read  novels,  was  born  in  a  small  frame  house  on  the  Parker's  Mill 
Rd.,  about  six  miles  from  Lexington.  Much  of  his  work  has  a  Kentucky  back- 
ground (see  Literature). 


TOUR  15  375 

BEAUMONT  (R),  3.5  m.,  the  2,500-acre  thoroughbred-horse  farm  of 
Hal  Price  Headley,  is  the  home  of  such  noted  runners  as  Supremus, 
Pharamond  II,  and  Epinard. 

The  congregation  of  the  old  SOUTH  ELKHORN  BAPTIST  CHURCH  (R), 
6.2  m.,  was  founded  in  1783  by  Lewis  Craig,  pioneer  Baptist  minister 
in  Kentucky  (see  Tour  3). 

At  9.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  Catnip  Hill  Pike. 

Left  on  this  road  to  LA  CHAUMIERE  Du  PRAIRIE,  1  m.,  built  in  1800  by  Col. 
Davis  Meade,  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  Army,  on  his  400-acre  land  grant.  The 
dwelling  developed  as  a  series  of  rooms,  some  of  log,  others  of  stone,  one  of  mud, 
and  one — remaining  today — of  brick  in  octagonal  form.  Passageways  of  stone  or 
brick  were  built  to  connect  the  units  as  the  group  was  enlarged  from  time  to  time. 
The  one-story  octagonal  room — built  to  entertain  Lafayette,  according  to  local 
legend — was  constructed  of  bricks  burned  on  the  place,  and  the  framework  was 
put  together  with  wooden  pegs.  Adjoining  the  octagonal  room  are  two  small 
''powder  rooms"  where  wigs  were  dressed;  one  of  these  rooms,  for  the  men,  con- 
tained a  sideboard  for  liquors.  Four  men  who  were  or  had  been  Presidents  of  the 
United  States — Thomas  Jefferson,  James  Monroe,  Andrew  Jackson,  and  Zachary 
Taylor — as  well  as  Henry  Clay,  Aaron  Burr,  and  Lafayette,  were  guests  here  at 
one  time  or  another. 

At  14.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  29. 

Left  on  this  road  is  WILMORE,  2  m.  (882  alt.,  1,329  pop.).  ASBURY  COLLEGE, 
established  in  1890,  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Hughes  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  has 
16  buildings  and  a  campus  of  46  acres.  The  college  offers  both  academic  and  reli- 
gious courses  and  confers  the  A.B.  degree. 

Also  on  State  29  is  HIGH  BRIDGE  STATE  PARK  (camping  facilities),  7  m., 
named  for  a  railroad  bridge  that  rises  317  feet  above  the  water  and  has  a  span 
of  1,230  feet.  This  beautiful  area  is  just  below  the  confluence  of  the  Kentucky  and 
Dix  Rivers.  The  Kentucky,  flowing  between  tree-topped  bluffs,  has  cut  a  deep 
gorge  into  comparatively  level  terrain. 

South  of  BOONE  TUNNEL,  18.8  m.,  cut  through  solid  limestone  in  the 
great  gorge  of  the  Kentucky  River,  US  68  crosses  Brooklyn  Bridge, 
which  offers  a  view  of  the  palisades  and  the  deep-hued  river. 

SHAKERTOWN,  24  m.  (930  alt.,  50  pop.),  locally  called  Pleasant 
Hill,  was  settled  in  1805  by  Shakers,  or  Shaking  Quakers,  a  religious 
cult  that  came  into  existence  in  England  after  1747,  when  Jane  and 
James  Wardley  began  exhorting  their  neighbors  to  a  more  austere 
manner  of  life.  Ann  Lee,  then  21  years  old,  was  converted  to  Quaker- 
ism, but  was  later  expelled  for  nonconformity.  Actuated  by  a  revela- 
tion, she  sought  refuge  in  America,  landing  in  New  York  in  1774.  After 
two  years  of  itinerant  preaching  and  healing,  she  and  her  converts 
established  a  Shaker  settlement  at  New  Lebanon,  New  York.  Later, 
through  missionary  labors,  chiefly  on  the  frontier,  others  were  organized 
including  this  one  at  Pleasant  Hill,  which  came  to  be  known  as  Shaker- 
town,  and  was  an  important  center  of  Shaker  activity.  In  1812  this 
colony,  with  the  acquisition  of  3,000  acres  of  very  fertile  farm  land,  in- 
augurated a  large-scale  building  program.  About  20  plain,  strong  brick 
and  stone  structures,  with  walls  three  and  four  feet  thick,  were  erected. 


376  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

These  included  a  school,  a  church,  a  general  office,  a  post  office,  and  a 
weaving  house,  in  addition  to  North,  East,  Center,  and  West  Houses. 
Each  house  held  one  communal  " family." 

The  Shakers  were  notably  industrious  people.  Next  to  religion,  work 
was  the  chief  interest  of  their  lives.  Their  sleek,  well-fed  cattle  and 
horses,  their  sheep  and  farm  products  brought  high  prices.  Here,  in 
addition  to  farming,  they  conducted  a  sawmill,  a  gristmill,  a  fulling 
mill,  an  oil  mill,  a  tanyard,  and  a  paper  mill ;  their  furniture  and  brooms 
were  noted  for  their  superior  quality.  The  women  wove  silk  and  other 
cloth  and  made  straw  hats.  Their  preserves,-  jellies,  and  pickles  were 
as  renowned  as  the  farm  products  of  the  men.  The  Shakers  adhered  to 
the  principle  of  communistic  living — all  worked  for  the  good  of  all — and 
the  equality  of  the  sexes,  women  having  the  same  power  and  authority 
as  men.  Though  celibates,  they  united  in  families  because  they  believed 
the  family  unit  to  be  the  most  effective.  All  were  "brothers  and  sisters 
in  the  Lord."  The  plan  of  government,  established  prior  to  1800,  in- 
cluded a  spiritual  head — two  elders  and  two  eldresses — who  were  the 
final  authority  in  all  affairs,  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual.  They  be- 
lieved in  the  dual  nature  of  the  Deity,  that  Jesus  had  come  to  earth  as 
the  masculine  principle,  and  that  "Mother  Ann"  represented  the  femi- 
nine— though  they  did  not  worship  either.  The  chief  tenet  of  the 
Shaker  religion  was  Christian  socialism;  in  addition,  they  believed  in 
the  "gift  of  many  tongues,"  in  visions  and  prophecy,  in  communion  with 
the  spirits  of  the  departed,  and  in  power  over  physical  disease,  detach- 
ment from  the  world,  and  confession  of  sin.  Sedate  singing,  dancing, 
and  hand  clapping  accompanied  their  worship. 

When  the  colony  was  a  little  more  than  100  years  old  it  was  so  de- 
pleted in  numbers  that  its  members  were  forced  to  sell  their  land  and 
houses,  with  the  provision,  however,  that  their  debts  should  be  paid, 
and  that  12  remaining  brothers  and  sisters  should  be  cared  for  during 
their  lives.  Sister  Mary  Settles,  the  last  Shaker  in  Kentucky,  died  here 
in  1925  at  the  age  of  87. 

The  Shakers'  houses  all  have  capstones  bearing  the  dates  of  erection. 
They  have  no  decorations  of  any  kind  and  no  mantels  over  the  fire- 
places. Each  family  house  has  a  double  entrance,  one  used  by  the 
men  and  the  other  by  the  women.  Though  men  and  women  met 
socially,  they  were  separated  in  the  dining  room,  at  work,  and  during 
worship.  The  houses  are  three  and  one-half  stories  in  height  with  full 
basements;  their  walls,  22  inches  thick  at  the  first  floor,  diminish  in 
thickness  with  each  succeeding  floor.  All  the  brick  used  in  these  build- 
ings was  burned  on  the  property  and  the  stone  was  quarried  from 
near-by  hills. 

The  Shakers  constructed  one  of  the  first  water  systems  in  Kentucky, 
a  horse  provided  power  for  a  force  pump  that  raised  the  water  from  a 
spring  to  the  tank  house,  and  thence  to  a  hydrant  just  outside  of  the 
buildings. 

The  NORTH  FAMILY  BUILDING  (L)  was  built  of  brick  in  1831. 


TOUR  15  377 

The  women's  WORK  SHOP  (open)  is  (R)  a  two-story,  frame,  rectan- 
gular building.  The  stones  in  its  foundation  are  exceptionally  large, 
one  of  them  12  feet  in  length  and  18  inches  square. 

The  brick  EAST  FAMILY  HOUSE  (open),  now  the  Shakertown  Inn, 
was  built  (R)  in  1817.  It  was  designed  to  accommodate  50  men  and 
50  women,  contains  22  rooms  and  five  compartments  in  the  basement. 
All  the  woodwork  is  of  yellow  poplar  and  is  mortised  and  pegged.  The 
floors  are  of  white  ash  of  irregular  width.  Encircling  the  walls  in  each 
room  is  a  peg  board,  6  feet  from  the  floor  with  3-inch  turned  wooden 
pegs  set  12  inches  apart. 

The  WORK  SHOP  (R),  a  two-story  brick  building  with  a  frame  ell, 
is  of  more  recent  date. 

The  GUEST  HOUSE  (open  daily  9-5 ;  adm.  10$)  is  (L)  now  a  mu- 
seum. This  building,  built  of  brick  in  1839,  has  a  wide  doorway  with 
side-  and  fan-lights;  the  windows  have  side  lights  with  green  shutters. 
It  contains  two  beautiful  self-supporting  spiral  stairways. 

The  MINISTER'S  HOUSE  (L)  is  a  plain  two-story  frame  building,  now 
used  as  a  residence. 

The  MEETING  HOUSE  (L)  is  a  two-story  rectangular  frame  building 
with  the  usual  double  entrance.  Above  the  auditorium  are  rooms  that 
were  formerly  used  for  committee  and  business  meetings. 

The  CHURCH  FAMILY  HOUSE  (R)  is  a  two-story  stone  building  re- 
sembling the  brick  family  houses. 

The  FARM  MANAGER'S  HOUSE  (open),  now  called  Ye  Old  Shaker 
Tavern,  is  (R)  the  oldest  building  of  the  group  (1809).  It  is  of  stone, 
two  stories  in  height,  and  has  one  entrance  instead  of  the  usual  two. 

The  CARPENTER'S  SHOP  (L),  a  one-story  building,  is  now  a  store. 

The  DOCTOR'S  OFFICE  (R),  a  two-story  stone  building  with  a  single 
entrance  door,  is  now  a  residence. 

The  WEST  FAMILY  HOUSE  (R),  now  the  Pennebaker  School  for  Girls, 
an  orphanage  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  is  practically  a  duplicate  of 
the  East  Family  House. 

In  the  BURYING  GROUND  (L),  beyond  the  pond,  the  grave  markers 
are  of  cast  iron  and  of  stone  and  contain  only  initials. 

Left  3  m.  from  Shakertown  on  State  33  to  DIX  DAM,  built  in  1925  by  the  Ken- 
tucky Utilities  Company  near  the  confluence  of  the  Dix  and  Kentucky  Rivers.  The 
dam  is  1,030  feet  long,  275  feet  high,  with  a  base  thickness  of  750  feet  and  a  top 
width  of  24  feet.  The  spillway  is  3,000  feet  long  and  250  feet  wide.  HERRING- 
TON  LAKE  (bass  fishing;  motor  launches  $1  an  hour),  formed  by  the  dam,  is  36 
miles  in  length.  In  the  FLOATING  BASS  HATCHERY  at  Gwinn  Island  in  Herrington 
Lake,  large-mouthed  bass  are  propagated. 

Between  Shakertown  and  Harrodsburg,  US  68  crosses  an  area  of  fer- 
tile Bluegrass  farm  land. 

HARRODSBURG,  32  m.  (871  alt.,  4,029  pop.)  (see  Harrodsburg). 

Points  of  Interest:  Pioneer  Memorial  State  Park,  Old  Fort  Harrod,  Memorial 
Monument,  Lincoln  Marriage  Temple,  Pioneer  Cemetery,  Mansion  Museum,  Col- 
lege Street,  Morgan  Row,  and  others. 


37$  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Harrodsburg  is  at  the  junction  with  State  35  (see  Tour  5). 

Right  from  Harrodsburg  on  the  Dry  Branch  Pike  to  old  MUD  MEETING  HOUSE, 
3  m.,  a  Dutch  Reformed  church,  now  the  property  of  the  Harrodsburg  Historical 
Society.  This  meeting  house  was  built  on  land  purchased  in  1800  by  a  congrega- 
tion organized  in  1796  by  the  Reverend  Peter  LaBaugh,  a  missionary  from  New 
Jersey.  In  the  adjoining  yard  is  the  GRAVE  OF  DOMINIE  THOMAS  KYLE,  the  first 
pastor.  Although  it  is  now  weatherboarded  and  plastered,  this  well-preserved 
building  was  constructed  in  an  unusual  manner.  Heavy  log  sills  were  laid  upon  a 
stone  foundation.  Into  these  sills  squared  timbers,  placed  at  intervals  of  several 
feet,  were  mortised  and  tenoned.  Pieces  of  hand-split  hickory  were  mortised  hori- 
zontally across  the  uprights,  and  between  these  puddled  clay,  mixed  with  straw, 
was  tamped  into  place.  When  the  clay  hardened  the  whole  formed  a  solid  wall. 
The  flooring,  made  of  boards  irregular  in  width,  was  tongued  and  grooved  by 
hand,  fitted  together,  and  laid  upon  joists. 

The  name  of  PERRYVILLE,  42.4  m.  (913  alt.,  349  pop.),  is  con- 
nected chiefly  with  the  battle  fought  two  miles  from  here  in  the  War 
between  the  States.  Main  Street  is  flanked  by  weather-beaten  frame 
buildings,  their  stoops  overhanging  the  sidewalks  and  their  ells  abutting 
on  the  Chaplin  River,  which  divides  the  town.  Many  of  the  buildings 
served  as  hospitals  or  quarters  during  and  after  the  Battle  of  Perry- 
ville. 

Right  from  Perryville  on  the  Mackville  Pike,  an  improved  road,  to  the  PERRY- 
VILLE BATTLEFIELD,  2  m.  Here  was  fought  the  deciding  engagement  of  the 
Kentucky  campaign  of  1862.  General  Bragg  entered  Kentucky  early  in  September 
1862  and  moved  far  into  the  interior  of  the  State,  attempting  to  rouse,  by  his 
presence,  the  secessionists  he  felt  to  be  predominant  in  the  State. 

General  Buell,  the  Union  commander,  moved  his  army  from  Tennessee  into  Ken- 
tucky to  checkmate  the  moves  of  the  Confederates,  and,  if  possible,  to  drive  them 
out  of  the  State. 

After  considerable  maneuvering  by  both  sides,  the  two  armies  met  near  Perry- 
ville. The  battle  was  really  an  accidental  collision.  Neither  side  could  claim  a 
clean-cut  victory,  but  the  Federals  held  the  field,  while  Bragg  retired  to  Harrods- 
burg and  presently  retreated  into  East  Tennessee.  Subsequently  the  Confederates 
abandoned  all  attempts  to  bring  Kentucky  into  the  Confederacy  by  military  means. 
The  battlefield  embraces  17  acres  in  which  a  Confederate  monument  was  erected  in 
1902,  and  another  for  the  Union  dead  in  1931. 

US  68  leads  past  the  old  PERRYVILLE  CEMETERY  and  continues  in  a 
zigzag  course. 

The  HALFWAY  INN  (L),  48.4  m.,  now  a  private  residence,  was  built 
prior  to  1792.  It  was  so  named  because  of  its  position  halfway  between 
Boonesboro  and  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  on  the  road  connecting  the  set- 
tlements. After  the  Battle  of  Perryville  many  of  the  wounded  were 
cared  for  in  it. 

In  SPRINGFIELD,  58.9  m.  (728  alt.,  1,487  pop.),  founded  in  1793, 
is  the  WASHINGTON  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  at  Main  and  Cross  Sts., 
that  was  erected  in  1814.  Among  its  records,  which  date  from  1792, 
are  the  marriage  bond  of  Thomas  Lincoln,  father  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
the  certificate  of  the  marriage  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks; 
and  one  of  the  two  known  signatures  of  Lincoln's  grandmother,  Ber- 
sheba  Lincoln. 


TOUR  15  379 

The  JOHN  POPE  HOUSE,  Walnut  and  High  Sts.,  was  built  of  brick  in 
the  Georgian  Colonial  style,  about  1795,  by  Gen.  Matthew  Walton. 
John  Pope  (1770-1845),  who  was  a  representative  and  Senator  from 
Kentucky  and  third  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Arkansas  (1829- 
1835),  resided  in  Springfield  from  about  1819  until  his  death. 

The  ROBERTS  HOUSE,  N.  Walnut  St.,  is  the  home  of  Elizabeth  Madox 
Roberts,  author  of  the  Great  Meadow,  the  Time  of  Man,  and  other 
novels  and  poems  (see  Literature). 

CEMETERY  HILL,  Walnut  St.,  is  a  burying  ground  established  in  1797. 

1.  Right  from  Springfield  on  State  55,  an  improved  road,  to  the  LINCOLN 
HOMESTEAD  PARK  (open  Apr.-Oct.,  9-4;  adm.  10$),  S  m.,  containing  a  repro- 
duction of  the  home  of  Lincoln's  grandmother,  Bersheba,  a  MEMORIAL  TO  NANCY 
HANKS,  and  a  monument  marking  what  is  believed  by  some  historians  to  be  the 
SITE  WHERE  LINCOLN'S  GRANDFATHER  WAS  KILLED  by  Indians   (see   Tour  16). 
Here,  on  June  12,  the  annual  Lincoln  Marriage  Festival  is  held  under  the  sponsor- 
ship of  the  Washington  County  Historical  Society.    The  States  of  Kentucky,  In- 
diana, and  Illinois  participate  in  a  program  that  includes  re-enactment  in  costume 
of  the  marriage  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks.    The  festivities  close  with 
a  costume  ball. 

2.  Left  from  Springfield  on  State  55  to  a  monument  marking  the  GRAVE  OF  BEN 
HARDIN,  2  m.,  the  noted  pioneer  lawyer,  of  Bardstown. 

Right  from  Springfield  on  State  53,  a  paved  road,  to  a  PREHISTORIC  BURIAL 
GROUND,  5  m.,  where  beneath  two  stone  mounds  many  fragments  of  prehistoric 
bones  and  artifacts  were  found.  These  are  on  display  in  the  museums  of  the  East- 
ern State  Normal  School,  Richmond,  and  Southwestern  Presbyterian  University, 
Memphis,  Tennessee.  Along  the  same  road  are  several  earth  mounds  (R). 

In  the  rolling  to  hilly  agricultural  country  west  of  Springfield,  the 
farms  are  small;  erosion  has  taken  heavy  toll  here. 
At  60.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  graveled  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  ST.  ROSE'S  PRIORY  (L),  1.2  m.,  a  Dominican  school  founded 
in  1806,  which  was  attended  (1816-18)  by  Jefferson  Davis,  later  President  of  the 
Confederacy. 

The  CONVENT  AND  ACADEMY  OF  ST.  CATHERINE  OF  SIENA  (L), 
61.5  m.,  established  in  1820,  is  a  junior  college  for  girls.  In  its  library 
of  7,000  volumes  are  rare  books.  The  academy  also  owns  a  number 
of  paintings,  some  of  them  attributed  to  Rembrandt,  Murillo,  and 
Perugino,  but  probably  copies.  In  the  school  museum  is  a  small  col- 
lection of  local  relics,  Indian  and  prehistoric. 

FEDERAL  HILL  (open  9-4;  adm.  25$),  76.6  m.,  completed  in  1818, 
was  built  as  the  manor  house  of  a  great  plantation  that  belonged  to 
John  Rowan,  Jr.,  whose  cousin,  Stephen  Collins  Foster,  wrote  the  bal- 
lad, "My  Old  Kentucky  Home."  Now  in  a  State  park,  the  brick  man- 
sion, among  trees  some  distance  (L)  off  the  highway,  is  one  of  the  best 
examples  of  Georgian  Colonial  architecture  in  Kentucky.  This  brick 
house,  on  a  stone  foundation,  is  two  stories  high  and  is  finely  propor- 
tioned within  and  without.  There  is  a  service  court  between  the  dining 
room  and  an  outside  one-story  kitchen.  With  the  exception  of  the  long 


380  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

narrow  windows  that  flank  the  classically  enframed  doorway,  and  those 
directly  above  them,  all  the  windows  in  the  fagade  have  24  panes.  The 
central  hall  is  spanned  by  an  arch  with  fluted  colonettes.  All  of  the 
rooms  have  beautifully  carved  wooden  mantels. 

William  Rowan  brought  his  son  John  (1773-1843),  later  the  builder 
of  Federal  Hill,  to  Kentucky  from  Pennsylvania  in  1783,  and  settled 
first  near  Louisville,  then  in  the  vicinity  of  Bardstown,  where  he  placed 
his  son  in  the  school  of  Doctor  Priestley.  In  1795  John  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Bardstown.  About  this  time  he  married  and  brought  his 
bride  to  the  little  brick  house  that  is  now  the  rear  wing  of  the  mansion. 
In  1804  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  in  1806  was  elected  to 
Congress  from  a  district  in  which  he  did  not  reside,  and  in  1819  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals.  After  he  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  Senate  (1824),  this  house  was  used  chiefly  as  a  summer 
home  and  hunting  lodge. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  in  front  of  the  dwelling  is  the  old  stone  spring 
house;  over  this,  in  a  room  of  logs,  was  Rowan's  law  office  in  which 
several  young  lawyers  received  their  training,  and  briefs  on  many  legal 
cases  were  prepared.  Tradition  relates  that  here  John  Rowan,  Henry 
Clay,  and  their  cronies  enjoyed  many  glasses  of  Kentucky  whisky  and 
played  games  of  poker. 

Rowan,  who  died  in  Louisville  in  1843,  was  buried  in  the  family 
burying  ground  here.  His  son,  John,  who  succeeded  him  as  the  master 
of  Federal  Hill,  became  United  States  Minister  to  the  Kingdom  of  Na- 
ples in  1848. 

In  1852,  a  few  months  before  Christy's  Minstrels  first  sung  "My  Old 
Kentucky  Home,"  Stephen  Collins  Foster  (1826-64)  and  his  wife  came 
down  the  river  from  Pittsburgh  on  their  way  to  New  Orleans.  It  is 
locally  affirmed  that  on  this  trip  Foster  visited  his  cousin  at  Federal 
Hill  and  that  "My  Old  Kentucky  Home"  was  written  here. 

At  76.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  62 ;  the  two  routes  are  united  be- 
tween this  point  and  Bardstown. 

BARDSTOWN,  77.2  m.  (637  alt.,  1,767  pop.),  among  the  hills  of 
Nelson  County,  is  a  stately  old  town  with  magnificent  trees  bordering 
broad  streets  on  which  are  numerous  houses  in  the  late  Georgian 
Colonial  and  the  Greek  Revival  styles.  First  known  as  Salem,  Bards- 
town was  renamed  for  William  Baird  (or  Bard)  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of 
the  owners  of  the  100-acre  tract  on  which  the  town  was  laid  out.  It 
was  incorporated  by  the  Virginia  Legislature  November  4,  1778,  and  in 
its  youth  rivaled  Louisville  and  Lexington  as  a  center  of  social  and 
educational  activities.  Salem  Academy  was  founded  here  in  1788  by 
James  Priestley.  Nazareth  Academy,  for  girls,  was  founded  near  Bards- 
town in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century;  St.  Joseph's  College, 
a  school  for  boys,  founded  in  1819,  attained  a  high  reputation. 

A  doubtful  legend,  cherished  by  the  citizens,  is  that  Louis  Philippe, 
Duke  of  Orleans,  later  King  of  France,  was  a  resident  of  the  little  town 
for  a  time,  during  which  he  taught  French  and  dancing  to  the  children 


TOUR    15  38l 

of  the  gentry  and  worked  at  the  watchmaker's  trade.  Louis  Philippe 
and  two  brothers,  on  their  way  from  the  capital  to  New  Orleans,  crossed 
the  Salt  River  at  Pitts  Fork  with  difficulty,  on  October  16,  1797,  and 
spent  the  night  at  Captain  Bean's  tavern  here.  Though  the  Duke 
became  very  ill,  he  was  left  alone  because  the  first  company  of  stage 
troupers  had  come  to  town — an  event  causing  great  excitement. 

The  JOHN  FITCH  MONUMENT  (R),  on  Courthouse  Square,  was 
erected  by  Congress  to  honor  the  man  now  acknowledged  as  the  in- 
ventor of  the  steamboat.  John  Fitch  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1743. 
His  first  successful  experiment  with  a  boat  propelled  by  steam  was 
made  on  the  Delaware  River  in  1787 — 20  years  before  Fulton  launched 
the  Clermont  on  the  Hudson.  Fitch  came  to  Kentucky  as  a  surveyor, 
and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  a  map  he  had  made  of  Ohio  and  Ken- 
tucky helped  him  to  finance  his  experiments.  His  ideas  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  steamboat  for  use  in  reaching  the  West  were  regarded  as 
the  ravings  of  a  madman,  and  it  was  1790  before  he  finally  sold 
enough  stock  to  finance  the  boat  that  carried  passengers  between  Phila- 
delphia and  Trenton  for  several  years.  With  the  profits  of  this  ven- 
ture a  vessel  was  built  for  operation  on  the  Ohio,  but,  just  as  it  was 
ready  for  launching,  it  was  dashed  to  pieces  by  a  storm.  Unable  to 
obtain  public  recognition  for  his  engine  or  financial  aid  to  promote  it, 
he  returned,  in  1796,  to  the  wilderness  of  Kentucky  and  to  a  life  of 
seclusion.  He  came  here  to  settle  on  land  he  had  bought  during  a  sur- 
veying trip,  only  to  find  it  overrun  by  squatters.  While  he  was  in 
Bardstown  he  constructed  a  small  model  of  a  steamboat,  which  he 
floated  on  the  town  creek. 

In  the  summer  of  1798,  bitter  and  disillusioned,  he  ended  his  life,  it 
is  said,  with  a  dose  of  poison.  In  his  journal  he  had  written:  "I  know 
of  nothing  so  vexatious  to  a  man  of  feelings  as  a  turbulent  wife  and 
steamboat  building.  I  experienced  the  former  and  quit  in  season  and 
had  I  been  in  my  right  sense  I  should  undoubtedly  have  treated  the 
latter  in  the  same  manner,  but  for  one  man  to  be  teased  with  both, 
he  must  be  looked  upon  as  the  most  unfortunate  man  of  this  world." 

Back  of  the  jail  in  an  old  cemetery  is  the  marked  GRAVE  OF  JOHN 
FITCH. 

The  TALBOTT  HOTEL,  on  Courthouse  Square,  has  been  operating 
since  its  construction  about  1800.  In  an  upstairs  room,  probably  used 
originally  as  a  banquet  hall,  are  murals  that  reflect  the  influence  of  the 
Italian  school. 

The  BEAL  RESIDENCE  (L),  two  blocks  south  of  Courthouse  Square, 
was  one  of  the  first  brick  dwellings  in  Bardstown;  it  was  built  between 
1790  and  1800.  One  of  the  first  race  tracks  in  the  State  was  on  the 
Beal  estate. 

Construction  of  ST.  JOSEPH'S  PROTO-CATHEDRAL  (R)  was  begun  in 
1816,  the  building  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget  in 
1819.  The  building  is  a  notable  example  of  church  architecture  of  its 
period.  The  woodwork  and  structural  timbers,  including  the  six  mas- 


382  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

sive  poplar  columns  of  the  broad  pedimented  Ionic  portico,  were  taken 
from  the  near-by  forest;  a  local  limestone  quarry  and  a  clay  bank  sup- 
plied the  stone  and  material  for  the  brick ;  the  nails  and  hardware  were 
wrought  by  local  blacksmiths.  The  simple  Greco-JRoman  design  of  the 
building,  with  its  classic  fagade  and  lofty  clock,  and  bell  tower  and 
spire,  was  the  work  of  John  Rogers,  who  moved  from  Baltimore  to 
Bardstown  to  superintend  the  construction.  Within  the  cathedral  are 
many  paintings,  said  to  have  been  obtained  by  Bishop  Flaget  and  his 
assistants,  Fathers  Badin  and  Nerinckx,  from  the  sacked  churches  of 
Belgium  and  France  during  the  Napoleonic  era.  Among  them  is  the 
Flaying  of  St.  Bartholemew,  of  the  Rubens  school;  Winged  St.  Mark, 
St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  St.  Peter  in  Chains,  believed  to  be  by  Van 
Dyck  (1599-1641);  a  Descent  of  the  Ghost  and  Annunciation  are 
ascribed  to  Van  Eyck;  a  Crucifixion  to  Van  Bree,  and  a  Crowning  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  to  Murillo  (1617-82).  Local  tradition  credits  many 
of  the  rich  interior  furnishings,  including  the  altar  pieces  and  paintings, 
as  well  as  the  sweet-toned  bell,  to  the  generosity  of  Louis  Philippe, 
King  of  France  from  1830  to  1848,  and  to  other  royal  donors.  In  1841 
the  seat  of  the  Roman  Catholic  see  was  moved  from  Bardstown  to 
Louisville,  and  this  church  was  thenceforth  known  as  the  Proto  (Gr., 
first)  Cathedral. 

The  BEN  HARDIN  HOUSE,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Bardstown,  is 
a  large  brick  structure,  irregular  in  form,  and  of  no  distinct  style  of 
architecture.  It  was  erected  in  1819  by  Ben  Hardin,  one  of  Kentucky's 
greatest  criminal  lawyers  and  one  of  the  most  picturesque  figures  of  his 
day.  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  in  allusion  to  Hardin 's  peculiar  style, 
said  of  him,  "Hardin  is  like  a  kitchen  knife,  whetted  on  a  brick;  he 
cuts  roughly,  but  he  cuts  deep."  He  was  called  "Kitchen  Knife"  until 
his  death. 

Bardstown  is  at  a  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14)  and  US  3  IE 
(see  Tour  6). 

Between  Bardstown  and  a  point  at  135.7  m.,  US  68  and  US  3 IE  are 
one  route  (see  Tour  6),  and  between  HORSE  CAVE,  139.5  m.  (603  alt., 
1,259  pop.)  (see  Tour  7),  and  BOWLING  GREEN,  173.5  m.  (469  alt., 
12,348  pop.)  (see  Tour  7),  US  68  and  US  31W  are  united  (see  Tour  7). 

Section  c.    BOWLING  GREEN  to  PADUCAH;  144.5  m. 

South  of  BOWLING  GREEN,  0  m.,  through  the  southern  Knobs 
section  of  the  State,  the  highway  abounds  with  delightful  vistas  of  up- 
land forests  and  well-cultivated  fields.  This  fertile  agricultural  area 
produces  a  high  grade  of  dark  tobacco  and  many  thoroughbred  horses. 

Three  brick  buildings,  at  14  m.,  are  REMNANTS  OF  A  SHAKER 
COLONY,  founded  in  1800.  There  were  formerly  six  large  buildings  and 
nearly  100  other  structures  here.  The  Shakers  here  operated  a  tannery, 
a  hat  factory,  and  a  canning  and  preserving  factory,  and  wove  some  silk 
produced  by  their  own  silkworms.  Celibacy  of  the  members  and  the 


TOUR    15  383 

lack  of  new  recruits  reduced  the  group  to  a  dozen  survivors  who,  in 
1922,  removed  to  the  settlement  at  Lebanon,  New  York.    The  oldest 
building  now  standing  bears  the  date  1824. 
At  14.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  73. 

Left  on  State  73  to  the  town  of  SOUTH  UNION,  1  m.  (579  alt.,  110  pop.),  con- 
taining an  old  SHAKER  INN  of  stagecoach  days.  The  building,  now  unoccupied,  is 
a  three-story,  rectangular,  gable-roofed  structure  with  no  ornamentation,  though 
there  is  a  large  porch  at  one  end  of  the  dining  room.  It  stands  among  large,  old 
trees. 

Along  the  highway  between  Bowling  Green  and  Auburn  are  many 
stone  walls,  most  of  them  built  by  slaves.  The  road  here  has  one  of 
the  most  solidly  built  roadbeds  in  the  State.  Limestone  slabs  a  foot  or 
more  in  length  were  placed  on  end,  forming  a  bed  of  an  average  depth 
of  10  inches;  this  old  foundation  has  been  repaved. 

AUBURN,  17.9  m.  (605  alt.,  821  pop.),  is  on  the  border  between  the 
rolling  fertile  land  and  the  abrupt  winding  knobs. 

RUSSELLVILLE,  28.4  m.  (534  alt.,  3,297  pop.),  is  in  a  valley  among 
the  knobs.  Trees  arch  above  its  old  houses,  which  are  surrounded  with 
old-fashioned  flower  gardens.  It  was  founded  in  1790  and  was  at  first 
called  Big  Boiling  Spring.  The  name  was  changed  to  honor  Gen.  Wil- 
liam Russell,  an  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  Army. 

In  the  COKE  HOUSE,  SE.  cor.  4th  and  Winter  Sts.,  advocates  of  State 
sovereignty  met  in  1861  and  passed  an  Act  of  Secession,  declared  Ken- 
tucky a  Confederate  State,  established  Bowling  Green  as  the  capital, 
and  elected  George  W.  Johnson  Provisional  Governor. 

The  old  SOUTHERN  BANK  BUILDING,  SW.  cor.  6th  and  Main  Sts., 
now  a  residence,  is  a  two-story  brick  structure  that  originally  served  as 
a  combined  residence  and  a  bank.  The  doorway  of  the  wing  which 
abuts  on  the  sidewalk  has  an  elaborately  carved  frame.  Posing  as  a 
group  of  wealthy  cattle  buyers,  Jesse  James  and  four  companions  ar- 
rived here  on  March  20,  1868,  and  shocked  the  townspeople  by  sud- 
denly robbing  this  bank  of  $9,000  and  wounding  its  president  before 
they  fled  to  Tennessee.  Two  weeks  later  one  of  the  band,  George 
Shepherd,  was  captured  in  Tennessee,  returned,  and  sentenced  to  three 
years'  imprisonment. 

West  of  Russellville  is  a  broad  valley  with  stock  farms  and  dark- 
tobacco  fields. 

ELKTON,  43.8  m.  (602  alt.,  951  pop.),  seat  of  Todd  County,  is  the 
former  home  of  Associate  Justice  J.  C.  McReynolds  of  the  U.S.  Supreme 
Court. 

Right  from  Elkton  on  State  181,  an  improved  road,  to  the  stone  entrance,  3  m., 
of  BLUE  AND  GRAY  STATE  PARK  (adm.  10$,  picnic  ovens;  hotel).  The  park, 
so  named  because  of  its  intermediate  position  between  the  birthplaces  of  Jefferson 
Davis  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  consists  of  an  86-acre  wooded  area.  It  was  estab- 
lished in  1925,  when  citizens  of  Todd  County  donated  the  tract  to  the  State  Park 
Commission.  The  driveway  winds  through  a  broad  meadow  and  terminates  on  the 
brink  of  a  woodland  bluff,  into  the  side  of  which  a  rustic  hotel  has  been  built.  On 


384  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

three  sides  of  the  building  are  verandas,  overlooking  a  wooded  valley,  picnic 
grounds,  tennis  courts,  and  Mallory  Springs,  source  of  the  hotel's  water  supply. 
Many  sportsmen  stay  at  the  hotel  during  the  fall  while  fox  hunting  and  shooting 
small  game  in  the  surrounding  region. 

In  FAIRVIEW,  52.3  m.  (175  pop.),  is  a  JEFFERSON  DAVIS  MONU- 
MENT in  DAVIS  MEMORIAL  PARK  (L),  commemorating  the  birth- 
place of  the  man  who  became  the  President  of  the  Confederacy.  The 
concrete  obelisk,  in  a  20-acre  tract,  is  351  feet  high.  At  the  base  is  a 
room,  20  feet  square,  containing  a  bronze  tablet  and  a  bas-relief  panel 
with  a  life-sized  figure  of  Jefferson  Davis, -the  work  of  Frederick  C. 
Hibbard.  An  elevator  carries  visitors  to  the  top  of  the  shaft,  from 
which  point  is  a  fine  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  monument, 
erected  by  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  was  dedicated  in 
1929. 

In  the  park  near  the  monument  stands  a  reproduction  of  the  DAVIS 
CABIN,  the  two-room  log  house  in  which  Jefferson  Davis  was  born.  The 
vestibule  of  the  BETHEL  BAPTIST  CHURCH  is  the  site  of  the  original 
cabin. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  born  on  June  3,  1808,  the  son  of  a  well-to-do 
planter.  After  a  brief  experience  on  a  Mississippi  plantation,  the  family 
returned  to  Kentucky.  The  lad  was  sent  to  school  in  Bardstown,  later 
entered  Transylvania  University  at  Lexington,  and  after  two  years  be- 
came a  cadet  at  West  Point  Military  Academy.  After  graduation  his 
commission  was  signed  by  John  C.  Calhoun,  then  Secretary  of  War. 

He  was  a  field  officer  during  the  Indian  wars,  notably  in  a  campaign 
against  Black  Hawk.  He  entered  politics,  became  a  presidential  elector 
(1844);  and  in  1845  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  Mississippi. 
During  the  Mexican  War,  in  which  he  led  a  Mississippi  regiment,  he 
fought  at  Buena  Vista  and  Monterey  and,  on  his  return,  was  sent  to 
the  United  States  Senate. 

Though  he  was  primarily  a  land-owner  and  his  interests  were  those 
of  a  planter,  President  Franklin  Pierce  persuaded  him  to  accept  an  ap- 
pointment as  Secretary  of  War.  He  had  married  President  Zachary 
Taylor's  daughter,  who  died  three  months  later.  Nine  years  afterward 
he  married  Miss  Varina  Howell  of  Natchez,  Mississippi. 

When  the  great  controversy  between  the  North  and  the  South  came 
to  a  head,  Jefferson  Davis,  who  had  long  been  a  secessionist,  was  elected 
President  of  the  Confederacy  virtually  by  acclamation.  He  was  cap- 
tured in  Georgia  at  the  close  of  the  War  between  the  States  and  was 
imprisoned  for  two  years  in  Fortress  Monroe. 

After  his  death  in  New  Orleans  in  1889,  his  birthday  was  made  a 
public  holiday  in  most  of  the  Southern  States. 

Right  from  Fairview  on  a  dirt  road  to  PILOT  ROCK,  11  m.,  a  natural  forma- 
tion rising  200  feet.  From  its  top  the  Jefferson  Davis  monument  is  visible. 

The  WESTERN  STATE  HOSPITAL  (R),  60.9  m.,  is  one  of  three  institu- 
tions for  the  mentally  diseased. 


TOUR    15  385 

HOPKINSVILLE,  63.1  m.  (541  alt.,  10,746  pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  is 
at  the  junction  with  US  41  and  US  41E  (see  Tour  8). 

CADIZ,  83.5  m.  (468  alt.,  1,114  pop.),  seat  of  Trigg  County,  is  in 
the  center  of  a  large  dark-leaf  tobacco-growing  area  and  is  the  home  of 
several  wealthy  planters.  It  is  known  also  for  the  number  and  quality 
of  hams  it  ships.  Trigg  County  was  named  for  Col.  Stephen  Trigg,  a 
Virginian  who  was  a  well-known  Indian  fighter. 

Left  from  Cadiz  on  State  93  to  the  junction  with  State  287,  2.6  m.,  an  improved 
road.  At  6  m.  on  State  287  is  a  foot  trail  (L)  leading  to  the  first  of  the  BRELS- 
FORD'S  CAVES,  a  series  of  seven  caverns.  Although  never  extensively  explored,  the 
interiors  of  these  caves  possess  beauty  and  diversity  in  their  formations.  During 
the  War  between  the  States  one  of  them  was  used  as  a  hideout  by  bands  of 
guerillas. 

CANTON,  92.5  m.  (200  pop.),  by  the  Cumberland  River,  was  once 
a  busy  landing  place  for  river  cargo-carriers.  BOYD'S  TAVERN,  now  the 
Canton  Hotel,  is  an  old  two-story  massive  brick  structure  with  joists  of 
hand-hewn  black  walnut  and  floors  of  white  ash.  A  wide  hall  runs 
through  the  center  on  each  floor. 

West  of  the  Cumberland  River  (toll  30$)  is  a  sterile  region.  The 
47,000-acre  KENTUCKY  WOODLANDS  WILDLIFE  REFUGE,  in 
Trigg  and  Lyons  Counties,  is  supervised  by  the  Bureau  of  Biological 
Survey,  which  is  demonstrating  methods  of  utilizing  lands  that  are  un- 
suitable for  farming  by  removing  submarginal  crop  lands  and  devoting 
this  area  to  forestry  and  to  the  conservation  of  wild  life.  Parts  of  the 
refuge  have  been  adapted  to  the  use  of  waterfowl,  the  upland  areas  are 
devoted  to  the  production  of  deer,  turkey,  quail,  and  other  small  game. 

At  101.3  m.  the  road  crosses  the  Tennessee  River  on  a  State  toll 
bridge  (toll  30$). 

At  102.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  94,  a  paved  road. 

Left  on  this  road  through  a  broken  and  hilly  region  to  MURRAY,  15  m.  (480 
alt.,  2,891  pop.),  the  seat  of  Galloway  County,  named  in  honor  of  John  L.  Murray, 
a  member  of  Congress  (1830).  The  MURRAY  STATE  TEACHERS'  COLLEGE  was 
founded  in  1922  and  now  has  an  enrollment  of  more  than  1,000  students.  The 
college,  housed  in  seven  modern  buildings,  has  a  beautiful  campus. 

Nathan  B.  Stubblefield,  a  native  of  Murray,  achieved  distinction  here  as  a  pio- 
neer experimentalist  in  the  field  of  wireless  telephony.  It  is  alleged  locally  that  he 
was  the  first  to  transmit  the  human  voice  successfully  through  the  medium  that  is 
now  known  as  radio.  The  experiment  was  performed  in  1902  across  the  swampy 
wood  that  is  now  the  college  campus.  As  often  happens  in  connection  with  impor- 
tant scientific  pioneering,  a  series  of  controversies,  claims,  counterclaims,  and  re- 
criminations has  arisen  over  the  question  of  Stubblefield's  primacy  in  the  radio 
field.  Stubblefield's  basic  patent  was  not  recorded  until  May  12,  1908,  six  years 
after  the  climax  of  his  experimentation  and  twenty  years  after  a  patent  covering 
the  same  essentials  had  been  issued  to  Lucius  J.  Phelps  of  New  York. 

An  annual  event  that  arouses  great  interest  in  Murray  is  the  annual 
exhibition  in  October  of  purebred  Jersey  cattle.  In  1929  Calloway 
County  was  awarded  the  prize  for  having  made  more  progress  in  the 
development  of  the  purebred  Jersey  than  any  other  county  in  the 


386  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

United  States.  On  the  fourth  Monday  in  March,  known  as  Mule 
Trading  Day,  animals  for  sale  or  exchange  are  brought  here  from  the 
surrounding  country. 

BENTON,  119  m.  (1,021  pop.),  seat  of  Marshall  County,  is  in  that 
part  of  the  State  known  as  the  Purchase  (see  Tour  9),  lands  ceded  to 
the  United  States  by  the  Chickasaw  in  1818.  The  town  was  named  for 
Thomas  Hart  Benton  (1782-1858),  the  United  States  Senator  from 
Missouri,  hero  of  those  who  wanted  all  lands  taken  from  the  Indians. 
The  first  Marshall  County  Courthouse  was  built  of  logs  in  1843  by 
Francis  Clayton.  Two  years  after  its  construction,  the  building  was 
sold  to  Clayton  for  $26;  the  second  courthouse  was  built  in  1847. 

"  'Tater  Day,"  celebrated  for  more  than  50  years  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  April,  like  county  court  day  in  many  rural  sections  of  Kentucky, 
is  the  annual  spring  holiday  when  the  countryside  gathers  on  the  streets 
to  buy  and  sell  sweet  potatoes  for  seed.  The  transactions  have  been 
extended  to  include  livestock,  produce,  guns,  knives,  or  anything  that 
can  be  swapped.  The  day  is  an  occasion  not  only  for  trading,  but  also 
for  meeting  friends. 

Old  Southern  Harmony  Singing  held  here  annually  on  the  fourth 
Sunday  in  May,  was  established  in  1884  by  J.  R.  Lemon,  a  west  Ken- 
tucky newspaperman.  Beginning  at  10  A.M.,  the  singing  continues  for 
nearly  two  hours,  when  an  old-fashioned  basket  dinner  is  eaten  on  the 
courthouse  lawn.  The  old  Southern  Harmony  used  in  the  annual  fes- 
tival was  one  of  the  most  widely  used  song  books  written  in  four  notes — 
fa,  sol,  la,  mi — of  the  shape  note  variety.  Tradition  relates  that,  in 
1853,  when  J.  R.  Lemon's  ancestors  came  over  the  mountains  from 
North  Carolina  to  Marshall  County  in  a  covered  wagon,  they  brought 
with  them,  among  their  household  goods,  a  copy  of  Southern  Harmony, 
known  then  as  "Singin'  Billy  Walker's  book"  and  dated  1835.  The 
songs  in  this  book  were  collected  in  the  rural  sections  of  the  South. 

Between  Benton  and  Paducah  is  a  gently  rolling  farm  land  in  which 
tobacco,  corn,  wheat,  and  berries  are  grown.  This  section  of  western 
Kentucky,  with  Paducah  as  the  hub,  has  developed  into  the  largest 
strawberry-producing  area  of  the  State.  Benton  is  one  of  several  load- 
ing points  from  which  refrigerator  cars  carry  crates  of  Dixie  Aroma 
strawberries  to  midwestern,  northern,  and  eastern  markets. 

At  139.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16)  and  US  62 
(see  Tour  14). 

PADUCAH,  144.5  m.  (341  alt.,  33,541  pop.)  (see  Paducah). 

Points  of  Interest:  Paduke  Statue,  Tilghman  Memorial,  Irvin  Cobb  Hotel,  Mc- 
Cracken  County  Courthouse,  Noble  Park,  Marine  Ways,  Brazelton  House,  Illinois 
Central  Shops  and  others. 

Paducah  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  US  62  (see 
Tour  14),  and  US  45  (see  Tour  9). 


TOUR    l6  387 


Tour  16 


(Huntington,  W.  Va.) — Ashland — Owingsville — Mount  Sterling — Win- 
chester— Lexington — Versailles — Frankfort — Louisville — Henderson — 
Paducah— Wickliffe— ( Charleston,  Mo.);  US  60,  the  Midland  Trail. 
West  Virginia  Line  to  Missouri  Line,  516.4  m. 

Paved  roadbed  throughout. 

Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Ry.  parallels  route  between  West  Virginia  Line  and  Lexington ; 
Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  between  Frankfort  and  Louisville,  and  between  Clover- 
port  and  Henderson. 
All  types  of  accommodations  in  cities  and  larger  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

US  60,  the  longest  single  route  in  the  State,  winds  east-west  through 
Kentucky,  revealing  all  its  varied  topography.  Between  Catlettsburg 
and  Ashland  it  follows  the  Ohio  River,  paralleling  the  railroad  tracks 
and  yards  through  the  industrial  section  of  eastern  Kentucky.  Between 
Ashland  and  Louisville  it  passes  through  mountain  counties  that  had 
been  practically  inaccessible  before  the  highway  was  built  in  the  1920's. 
Between  Morehead  and  Mount  Sterling  the  valley  widens,  the  hills  de- 
crease in  height,  and  open  farm  and  pasture  lands  appear.  It  crosses 
the  Bluegrass  section,  a  land  of  fertile  chocolate-colored  soil,  white 
frame  fences,  and  spacious  ante-bellum  houses  whose  columns  are  half 
hidden  by  trees.  Lexington,  midway  between  Catlettsburg  and  Louis- 
ville, is  the  center  of  Kentucky's  saddle-horse  and  race-horse  breeding 
section — the  heart  of  tradition's  "old  Kentucky" — where  life  is  still 
lived  in  the  grand  manner,  and  a  knowledge  of  horses  is  of  prime  im- 
portance. The  route  crosses  the  Kentucky  River  at  Frankfort,  the 
State's  capital,  where  the  Bluegrass  country  meets  the  foothills  of  the 
northeast  highlands. 

Section  a.  WEST  VIRGINIA  LINE  to  LEXINGTON,  141.4  m.  US  60 

US  60  crosses  the  West  Virginia  Line,  0  m.,  10  miles  west  of  Hunt- 
ington, West  Virginia  (see  West  Virginia  Tour  12),  by  way  of  a  bridge 
(toll  50$)  over  the  Big  Sandy  River. 

CATLETTSBURG,  0.5  m.  (552  alt.,  5,025  pop.),  sprawled  among 
the  hills  overlooking  the  junction  of  the  Big  Sandy  and  Ohio  Rivers,  is 
the  seat  of  Boyd  County.  The  business  district,  dominated  by  the 
courthouse  and  given  a  spacious  appearance  by  the  courthouse  square, 
is  along  the  waterfront.  Extended  back  from  the  river  are  quiet  streets 
and  unpretentious  brick  and  frame  dwellings.  The  town  and  near-by 


388  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Catletts  Creek  were  named  for  Sawney  Catlett,  who  came  from  Virginia 
in  1808  and  established  a  trading  post  that,  for  more  than  50  years, 
served  trappers  and  hunters  of  the  Ohio  and  Big  Sandy  River  regions. 
These  valleys  were  filled  with  big  game;  early  explorers,  drifting  down 
the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy,  then  known  as  Chattaroy 
(Ind.,  river  of  sand  bars),  were  frequently  attacked  by  Wyandottes, 
who  resented  the  intrusion  of  white  men  into  the  valley,  called  Oki-se- 
jib-kith-ke  (Shawnee,  where  buffalo  are  plenty). 

Among  early  white  visitors,  of  whom  there  is  record,  was  a  party  that 
arrived  in  1772,  led  by  the  Reverend  David  Jones,  afterwards  an  officer 
in  the  Revolutionary  Army.  Another  member  of  the  expedition  was 
young  George  Rogers  Clark.  The  party  remained  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Big  Sandy  for  several  weeks,  exploring  the  lower  reaches  of  the  stream. 
Clark  received  here  his  first  impressions  of  the  value  of  the  Ohio  River 
as  a  waterway  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  of  its  importance  as  a 
line  of  defense.  Catlettsburg  continued  as  a  trading  post  until  1857, 
when  the  cutting  of  big  timber  along  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Big 
Sandy  inaugurated  an  era  of  slow  but  steady  growth.  The  focal  point 
for  valley  trade,  it  ranked  for  several  years  as  a  very  important  round- 
timber  market.  During  the  steamboat  era  it  became  a  gay  and  busy 
place.  Riverside  folk  of  the  Sandy  and  Ohio  valleys  gloried  in  the 
coming  of  the  showboat  with  its  blaring  band,  its  shouting  captain,  and 
jovial  passengers.  On  the  day  the  Cotton  Blossom  Floating  Theater, 
whose  fame  was  revived  by  Edna  Ferber's  novel,  Show  Boat,  tied  up  at 
the  wharf,  Catlettsburg  was  a  typical  river  town,  with  its  inns,  wharves, 
boathouses,  and  saloons,  where  drinks  and  free  food  were  dispensed. 
With  the  coming  of  railroads  and  the  development  of  the  coal  industry, 
Ashland  became  the  metropolis  of  northeastern  Kentucky.  On  the  old 
waterfront,  once  the  scene  of  great  activity,  are  now  deserted  inns  and 
fading  signboards. 

Between  Catlettsburg  and  Ashland,  US  23  (see  Tour  1)  and  this 
route  are  united. 

ASHLAND,  6.4  m.  (552  alt.,  20,074  pop.)  (see  Ashland). 

Points  of  Interest:  American  Rolling  Mills  Plant,  Ashland  Coke  Company  Plant, 
Central  Park,  and  others. 

Ashland  is  at  the  junction  with  US  23  (see  Tour  1). 

West  of  Ashland  US  60  winds  in  and  out  among  the  creeks  and  hol- 
lows of  the  hill  country,  climbing  up  and  down  ridges  from  whose  tops 
are  excellent  views  of  the  ranges  of  hills. 

The  6,400-acre  ARMCO  PARK,  11.8  m.  (picnicking  facilities),  is  a 
part  of  the  old  furnace  lands  that  for  years  lay  open  as  "commons,"  on 
which  cattle  and  hogs  were  grazed.  During  the  1920's,  after  the  Ameri- 
can Rolling  Mills  Company  had  become  well  established  in  Ashland, 
part  of  this  open  land  was  set  aside  for  this  park,  but  most  of  the  enor- 
mous holdings  of  the  old  iron  companies  of  the  nineteenth  century  have 
been  sold  and  fenced  off. 


TOUR    I  6  389 

WILLIAMS'  HALFWAY  INN  (R)  20.8  m.,  was  built  about  1824  by 
Louis  Williams.  The  front  of  this  low,  rambling  story-and-a-half  log 
house,  warped  and  darkened  by  the  years,  has  been  weather  boarded, 
and  an  extension  has  been  added  in  the  rear.  The  original  clay  mortar 
still  holds  between  many  of  the  squared  logs.  Although  the  structure 
was  built  as  a  dwelling,  like  many  of  the  early  homes  it  opened  its  doors 
to  travelers;  it  soon  became  a  regular  stopping  place  on  the  stagecoach 
route  between  Louisville  and  Washington,  D.C.,  and  many  travelers  of 
early  prominence  stayed  here.  The  inn  is  within  a  22,000-acre  tract  be- 
longing to  the  American  Rolling  Mills  Company  that  is  held  as  a  game 
preserve. 

KILGORE,  22.6  m.  (634  alt.,  50  pop.),  is  the  trading  center  of  a 
region  of  iron  and  coal  country. 

GRAYSON,  33.5  m.  (752  alt.,  1,022  pop.),  largest  trading  center  of 
an  active  iron  district  and  seat  of  Carter  County,  was  named  for  Col. 
Robert  Grayson. 

Left  from  Grayson  on  a  dirt  road  to  MOUNT  SAVAGE,  3  m.  Here  is  the 
largest  of  the  old  furnaces  in  this  region.  The  folklore  and  songs  of  this  area  have 
acquired  a  distinctive  flavor  from  the  coal-mining  industry  that  was  introduced 
here  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  story  of  an  explosion  at  a  mine  in  1905  is  told  in  the  following  ballad,  com- 
posed and  often  sung  by  Aunt  Molly  Jackson  (see  Tour  19),  who  was  born  in 
the  mountain  region  of  Kentucky: 

Come  all  my  friends  and  near  relations 

And  I  will  tell  you  if  I  can 

What  a  great  and  sad  occurrence 

That  has  happened  in  our  land. 

It  was  on  one  Monday  morning 

On  the  18th  day  of  May 

Near  300  coal  miners,  around  us 

Left  their  homes  and  marched  away 

They  went  to  labor  for  their  families 

And  for  those  they  dearly  loved 

All  at  once  this  sad  occurrence 

Now,  our  chance  to  meet  them  is  above 

Some  was  killed  without  a  moment's  warning 

And  some  wrote  letters  till  after  two 

Some  wrote  they  would  soon  be  in  heaven 

Oh,  just  think  if  that  be  true. 

At  44.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  182,  a  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road  1.2  m.  to  the  junction  with  a  graveled  road;  L.  0.6  m.  to 
CASCADE  CAVES  (open  6-8;  adm.  25$  to  $1,  guides),  with  two  electrically  lighted 
caverns  and  an  underground  waterfall. 

One  of  the  caves,  known  as  Cathedral  Room,  is  220  feet  in  length;  the  other, 
720  feet  long,  has  three  chambers,  one  of  which  is  reputed  to  have  been  the  ren- 
dezvous of  a  band  of  counterfeiters. 

Northwest  of  the  road  to  Cascade  Caves,  State  182  passes  through  a  rugged, 
almost  primeval,  region  skirting  Tygarts  Creek  for  a  short  distance,  and  winding 
along  the  creek  bottom  of  a  tributary  stream.  Virgin  stands  of  timber  on  the  hill- 
sides shade  the  narrow  road.  Broken  and  crumbling  stone  outcroppings  add  to  the 
primitive  appearance  of  this  defile.  Only  a  part  of  the  extensive  series  of  caverns 
in  the  Tygarts  Creek  district  has  been  fully  explored  and  developed. 


3QO  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

At  5.2  m.  on  State  182  is  the  reservation  embracing  CARTER  CAVES  AND 
NATURAL  BRIDGES  (open  6-8;  adm.  27$  to  each  cave,  group  rates  less; 
guides).  Only  four  of  the  eight  caves  here  are  open  to  the  public.  A  wooden 
bridge  high  in  the  center  of  a  sheer  rock  wall  gives  access  to  X  CAVE,  formed  of 
four  chambers  that  outline  the  letter  X.  From  SALTPETER  CAVE  came  some  of  the 
crude  saltpeter  with  which  the  gunpowder  used  by  Kentucky  riflemen  at  the  Battle 
of  New  Orleans  was  made.  Indian  relics  have  been  found  here  and  an  excavated 
spot  was  the  grave  of  a  so-called  Indian  "princess."  BAT  CAVE,  so  named  because 
of  the  hundreds  of  bats  that  hang  in  clusters  from  the  ceiling,  is  the  largest  cavern 
on  the  reservation  and  the  only  one  of  those  open  to  the  public  that  is  not  elec- 
trically lighted.  Many  of  its  recesses  are  still  unexplored.  LAUREL  CAVE,  the 
smallest  and  the  one  that  contains  the  most  interesting  formations,  is  an  upper 
cavern  reached  by  a  stairway  from  the  cave  below.  It  contains  an  outlet  through 
a  rock  cliff  that  looks  out  upon  Tygarts  Creek,  a  great  distance  away.  Carter 
Caves  are  connected  with  Cascade  Caves  by  CARTER  CAVE  NATURAL  BRIDGE,  one 
of  the  largest  in  Kentucky.  It  is  219  feet  long,  196  feet  high,  and  12  feet  wide, 
and  its  top  is  so  level  that  the  highway  leading  to  Carter  City  crosses  it.  There 
is  a  natural  rock  stairway  from  the  bridge  to  the  bottom  of  the  ravine  200  feet 
below.  This  and  two  smaller  natural  bridges,  Smoky  and  Fern,  also  in  this  reser- 
vation, are  considered  by  geologists  to  be  remnants  of  caves  formed  by  stream 
erosion. 

OLIVE  HILL,  49.8  m.  (752  alt.,  1,484  pop.),  is  a  brickyard  town  in 
a  narrow  hollow  between  the  hills.  This  district  is  widely  known  for 
its  deposits  of  plastic  clays  of  superior  quality;  the  TROUGH  CREEK 
MINE  (visited  by  permit)  is  (L)  especially  striking  when  the  numerous 
furnaces  are  in  operation. 

West  of  Olive  Hill  the  rugged,  heavily  wooded  hills  on  each  side  of 
the  highway  afford  exceptionally  fine  views. 

MOREHEAD,  70  m.  (712  alt.,  825  pop.),  seat  of  Rowan  County, 
was  the  trade  center  for  lumbermen  working  on  extensive  operations  in 
the  hills  to  the  south.  The  town  lies  in  the  valley  of  Triplett's  Creek, 
with  surrounding  mountain  ridges  reaching  an  elevation  of  1,000  feet. 
The  buildings  of  the  MOREHEAD  STATE  TEACHERS  COLLEGE  (R)  are 
spread  out  over  a  7  5 -acre  campus  on  the  wooded  slope  of  a  mountain 
at  the  eastern  edge  of  town.  The  school  was  established  in  1887  as  a 
private  denominational  institution  for  mountain  boys  and  girls;  it  was 
transformed  into  a  teachers'  college  for  eastern  Kentucky  in  1922.  The 
red-brick,  stone-trimmed  buildings  are  in  Tudor  Gothic  style. 

Morehead  was  the  first  site  of  the  Eastern  Kentucky  Moonlight 
Schools  that  were  created  in  1911  by  Cora  Wilson  Stewart  and  the 
teachers  of  Rowan  County.  The  enrollment  reached  1,200  the  first 
year,  pupils  ranging  in  age  from  18  to  86  years.  By  the  end  of  1913 
illiteracy  in  the  county  had  been  practically  wiped  out.  This  region 
was  long  known  for  its  feuds  (see  Tour  19),  one  of  which  is  described 
in  the  local  ballad,  "Rowan  County  Troubles." 

Rowan  is  the  northernmost  of  the  17  counties  that  contributed  land 
for  the  900,000-acre  Cumberland  National  Forest,  which  stretches  along 
the  western  rim  of  the  mountains  in  a  narrow  band  from  Rowan  County 
south  to  the  Tennessee  Line.  Within  the  forest  are  many  beautiful 
spots  that  make  admirable  camp  sites. 


TOUR    l6  391 

At  71.6  m.,  on  the  western  outskirts  of  Morehead,  is  the  junction  with 
a  hard-surfaced  road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  CLEARFIELD,  0.6  m.  (705  alt.,  250  pop.),  a  fire-clay 
manufacturing  town.  The  extensive  fire-clay  beds  here  are  a  continuation  of  the 
Sciotoville  deposit  that  extends  southward  and  westward  from  Scioto  County, 
Ohio.  Non-refractory  clays  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  brick,  tile,  and  terra 
cotta  are  also  present  in  this  region. 

Right  in  Clearfield,  at  the  fork  of  two  unmarked  roads  on  a  narrow  winding 
road  3.8  m.  to  the  MOREHEAD  FIRE  OBSERVATORY  (1,100  alt.),  one  of  the  22  steel 
observation  towers  in  the  Cumberland  National  Forest.  From  the  glass-enclosed 
observatory  is  a  splendid  view  of  the  forested  mountains.  South  of  the  observa- 
tory on  an  undulating  ridge  table  is  a  FOREST  CAMP  (camping  and  picnicking 
facilities). 

FARMERS,  78.1  m.  (868  alt.,  290  pop.),  on  the  Licking  River,  is  a 
trade  center  of  the  clay  region. 

US  60  proceeds  through  a  region  of  steep-sided  foothills — especially 
striking  in  the  spring  and  early  summer  when  rhododendron  and  azalea 
are  in  bloom — into  the  Knobs  area,  a  narrow  belt  of  rounded  or  flat- 
topped  hills  almost  surrounding  the  Bluegrass  region,  some  of  them  ris- 
ing abruptly  several  hundred  feet  above  the  lowlands. 

OWINGSVILLE,  92.1  m.  (1,025  alt.,  933  pop.),  seat  of  Bath  County, 
lies  at  the  top  of  a  low  hill.  The  main  and  almost  the  only  street  is 
lined  with  fine  old  houses.  The  town  was  named  for  its  most  promi- 
nent early  citizen,  Col.  Thomas  Dye  Owings,  who  settled  on  land 
granted  for  services  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  became  wealthy 
through  the  mining  and  processing  of  iron  ore.  When  this  site  was 
selected  as  the  county  seat  in  1811,  it  was  owned  by  Richard  Menifee 
and  Colonel  Owings,  each  of  whom  wished  to  bestow  his  name  on  the 
new  town.  It  was  decided  to  name  the  village  for  the  man  who  erected 
the  finest  residence  in  the  shortest  time.  Colonel  Owings  won  with  the 
OWINGS  HOUSE  (open),  on  Main  St.  (L),  just  beyond  the  courthouse. 
This  house,  completed  in  1812,  is  a  two-story  building  of  painted  red 
brick.  One  end  of  the  old  house  has  been  torn  down  and  replaced  by 
a  commercial  building.  The  wide  front  doorway,  now  with  colored 
glass  side  lights,  under  a  second-story  Palladian  window,  was  originally 
in  the  center  of  the  house.  All  woodwork,  windows,  doors,  and  the 
lovely  spiral  stairway  ascending  three  stories,  were  made  by  hand  and 
brought  from  Baltimore  by  oxcart.  The  house,  of  Georgian  Colonial 
design,  has  walls  from  three  to  four  feet  thick.  This,  together  with  its 
fortlike  arrangement,  servants'  quarters  in  the  basement,  portholes  and 
entrance  to  a  subterranean  passage  concealed  behind  the  drawing  room 
fireplace,  indicate  that,  with  all  its  beauty  of  line  and  finish,  safety  from 
Indian  and  other  attacks  compelled  consideration.  After  Owings'  death 
the  house  became  an  inn  on  the  stagecoach  route  between  Lexington 
and  Washington,  D.C.  It  was  the  center  of  social  life  for  the  entire 
section  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Louis  Philippe 
and  Lafayette  were  among  the  distinguished  guests,  and  in  1826  a  grand 


3Q2  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

ball  was  given  here  in  honor  of  Henry  Clay,  then  Secretary  of  State  and 
a  frequent  guest. 

Left  from  Owingsville  on  State  36,  improved,  to  the  SLATE  CREEK  IRON  FUR- 
NACE, 2.6  m.,  built  in  1790.  A  small  tree  grows  among  the~  ruins,  which  stand  on 
the  bank  of  Slate  Creek.  During  the  War  of  1812,  cannon  balls,  weighing  about 
four  pounds  each,  were  cast  here  and  sent  by  wagon  to  the  Licking  River  and  on 
flatboats  down  the  Licking,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Mississippi  Rivers  to  New  Orleans 
for  the  use  of  General  Jackson  in  the  battle  with  the  British  in  1815.  From  that 
time  the  furnace  has  usually  been  referred  to  as  "Andrew  Jackson's  Old  Thunder 
Mill." 

On  State  36  is  OLYMPIAN  SPRINGS  (R),  8.9  m.,  the  most  important  of  the 
mineral  springs  and  baths  for  which  Bath  County  was  named.  It  was  established 
in  1791  and  was  once  widely  known  as  a  watering  place.  It  was  also  noted  for 
its  "most  pure  and  salubrious  air."  Its  setting  has  been  called  a  "high  mountainous 
country,  embellished  with  scenery  of  a  bold  romantic  character."  The  first  stage 
line  in  Kentucky  ran  between  Lexington  and  Olympian  Springs,  then  known  as 
Mud  Lick.  Henry  Clay,  one  of  its  early  owners,  changed  the  name  to  Olympian 
Springs. 

A  millstone  marker  (R),  104.6  m.,  points  to  the  old  sycamore  tree, 
on  Kingston  Creek,  that  is  the  traditional  SITE  OF  THE  DEATH  OF  CAPT. 
JAMES  ESTILL  who  was  killed  in  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  with  an  Indian 
during  the  disastrous  Battle  of  Little  Mountain  in  1782.  This  was  the 
result  of  one  of  the  British-inspired  incursions  that  led  to  the  Battle  of 
the  Blue  Licks  (see  Tour  15).  At  the  buffalo  crossing  near  this  tree 
Captain  Estill  and  a  party  of  25  Kentuckians  overtook  but  were  de- 
feated by  the  band  of  Wyandottes  who  had  attacked  Estill's  Station. 

MOUNT  STERLING,  106.5  m.  (934  alt.,  4,350  pop.),  seat  of  Mont- 
gomery County,  is  an  attractive  town  in  a  winding  valley  and  along  the 
slopes  of  several  hills.  It  was  surveyed  and  platted  by  Enoch  Smith,  in 
1793,  and  called  Little  Mountain  Town,  for  the  large  mound  northwest 
of  it.  Shortly  afterward  Hugh  Forbes,  a  Scot  living  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, suggested  Stirling,  in  honor  of  his  boyhood  home,  and  the  name 
became  Mount  Stirling  but  was  later  spelled  with  an  ae."  In  December, 
1863,  Confederate  troops  captured  the  town,  burned  the  courthouse,  de- 
stroyed nearly  all  the  county  records,  and  confiscated  the  funds  of  the 
town's  only  bank.  In  Montgomery  County  are  25  mounds  that  have 
yielded  many  relics  of  the  mound  builders. 

Peter  Lee  Hensley  (1855-1926),  a  Negro  owner  and  breeder  of  trot- 
ters, was  born  in  Mount  Sterling.  Hensley  began  his  career  at  the  age 
of  14  when  he  got  a  job  as  a  wagon  driver;  by  the  time  he  was  19  he 
owned  a  grocery  store  and  a  restaurant,  and  a  few  years  later  he  bought 
his  first  trotter.  He  eventually  purchased  the  Yellow  Rose  Farm,  just 
outside  of  Mount  Sterling,  and  there  he  bred  and  trained  his  horses. 
Two  of  Hensley's  most  outstanding  racers  were  Temple  Bar,  winner  of 
24  out  of  25  races,  and  Alcyo,  a  stallion  that  won  17  consecutive  events. 

Mount  Sterling  is  at  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17). 

Left  from  Mount  Sterling  on  the  Spencer  Rd.  to  SPENCER,  5  m.  (50  pop.). 
Left  from  Spencer,  over  a  bridge  spanning  Slate  Creek,  then  on  a  very  narrow 


TOUR  1 6  393 

loose-gravel  road  winding  to  the  top  of  the  hill  where  stands  the  OLD  ROCK 
HOUSE  OF  MORGAN'S  STATION  (R),  6.5  m.,  now  a  farmhouse.  This  tall  two-story 
building  of  unfinished  stone,  commanding  one  of  the  highest  elevations  in  the 
vicinity,  was  attacked  by  Indians  in  1793.  The  crevices,  originally  chinked  with 
mud,  have  been  filled  with  cement.  The  walls  of  the  old  station  house  are  two 
feet  thick;  its  exterior,  with  a  large  stone  chimney  at  each  end,  is  plain,  even  aus- 
tere. The  hand-carved  woodwork  of  ivory-painted  poplar  is  still  in  excellent  con- 
dition; there  are  coronets  above  the  mantel  and  over  one  of  the  inside  doorways. 
The  wainscoting,  two  and  one-half  feet  high,  is  a  noteworthy  feature. 

West  of  Mount  Sterling  the  highway  traverses  the  undulating  terrain 
characteristic  of  the  Bluegrass  section.  On  both  sides  of  the  highway 
stretch  stock  farms  dotted  with  oak  and  beech  trees  and  watered  by 
streams  flowing  between  limestone  banks. 

The  HENRY  C.  BISUDEN  HOUSE  (R),  118.3  m.,  a  large  two-story  red- 
brick house  trimmed  with  stone,  has  a  three-story  tower  on  one  corner 
and  a  carriage  porch.  It  is  on  a  slight  elevation  a  short  distance  from 
the  road,  surrounded  by  old  trees.  The  house  was  built  in  1860  by 
Benjamin  Broom,  a  prosperous  stock  farmer  who  imported  the  English 
shorthorn  cattle  for  which  this  region  was  once  famous.  The  designs 
for  the  house  were  suggested  by  the  English  country  manors  seen  by 
Broom  on  one  of  his  purchasing  trips  to  England.  It  contains  21  spa- 
cious, high-ceiled  rooms,  including  one  that  can  be  reached  only  through 
the  top  tower  room,  which  has  a  secret  entrance.  (On  one  occasion 
during  the  War  between  the  States,  provisions  placed  in  this  room  were 
discovered  only  when  a  soldier  drew  his  sword  and  threatened  to  cut 
the  throat  of  the  Negro  cook  unless  she  revealed  the  place  where  they 
had  been  hidden.)  The  west  room  on  the  first  floor  has  a  bay  window 
between  two  delicate  hand-carved  Corinthian  pilasters,  and  a  crystal 
chandelier.  The  staircase  in  the  central  hall,  also  elaborately  carved, 
winds  to  the  second  floor  and  forms  a  balcony.  This  estate,  known  for 
many  years  as  Vinewood,  was  equipped  with  an  extensive  system  that 
supplied  the  house  and  other  buildings  with  running  water. 

WINCHESTER,  122.7  m.  (981  alt.,  8,233  pop.),  seat  of  Clark 
County,  is  on  low  hills  that  are  a  part  of  the  watershed  between  the 
Kentucky  and  Licking  Rivers.  Its  spacious  business  and  residential 
districts  combine  the  appearance  of  a  modern  city  with  that  of  an  old- 
fashioned  town.  The  settlement,  incorporated  in  1793,  was  named  for 
Winchester,  Virginia,  the  former  home  of  John  Baker,  its  founder. 
Early  in  its  history  it  became  the  marketing  center  of  this  fertile  agri- 
cultural area  on  the  margin  of  the  inner  Bluegrass.  It  was  the 
shorthorn-cattle  capital  of  the  region  for  many  decades;  the  highest 
price  ever  realized  for  a  single  head  of  cattle  in  this  region  was  $45,000. 
Although  primarily  a  residential  town,  it  has  several  industries,  includ- 
ing flour  milling,  lumbering  and  millworking,  and  the  assembling  of  gas 
and  farm  machines.  The  building  of  the  L.  &  N.  R.R.  branch  from 
Winchester  into  the  eastern  Kentucky  coal  field  and  the  discovery  of 
oil  and  gas  deposits  have  contributed  to  the  town's  prosperity.  In  the 
old  CLARK  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE,  on  Main  St.,  in  the  center  of  the 


394  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

business  district,  Henry  Clay  made  his  last  speech  in  Kentucky.  His 
first  Kentucky  speech  was  also  made  in  Winchester  on  an  immense 
burr-oak  stump  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Fairfax  Sts.,  where  the 
Brown-Proctoria  Hotel  now  stands. 

KENTUCKY  WESLEYAN  COLLEGE  (co-educational),  on  College  St., 
founded  in  1866  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  occupies 
a  group  of  brick  buildings  arranged  in  a  semicircle  upon  the  grassy 
eastward  slope  of  the  campus.  The  Administration  Building  is  a  three- 
and-one-half-story  structure  of  gray  brick  with  a  pedimented  portico. 
Spencer  Memorial  Gymnasium,  a  $100,000  building  of  modern  con- 
struction, with  a  recessed  porch,  is  across  the  street  from  the  Admin- 
istration Building.  The  college  library,  an  attractive  one-story  stone 
building,  was  the  gift  of  Andrew  Carnegie. 

The  HICKMAN  HOUSE,  NW.  cor.  Maple  and  Hickman  Sts.,  a  two- 
story  building  of  red  painted  brick,  was  built  in  1814.  William  Hick- 
man, its  first  owner  and  occupant,  was  a  Virginian,  as  were  many  of 
the  pioneers  who  established  estates  and  built  substantial  and  beautiful 
homes  in  Kentucky.  Although  the  house  has  been  extensively  repaired 
and  reconstructed  in  recent  years  and  the  oldest  unit  has  been  enlarged 
by  the  addition  of  two  wings,  the  design  of  the  first  structure  has  not 
been  altered.  The  walls,  18  inches  thick,  are  of  brick.  The  mantels 
and  the  other  woodwork  are  hand-carved,  and  the  joists  under  the  first 
floor  of  the  original  building  are  logs  from  which  the  bark  has  been 
removed. 

The  GOVERNOR  JAMES  A.  CLARK  MANSION,  at  the  junction  of  Colby 
Pike  and  Wheeler  St.,  is  a  two-story  house  of  brick  painted  red.  The 
fagade  has  a  wide  porch,  with  Ionic  columns  in  the  center  supporting 
a  small  pediment,  a  wide  entrance  with  fanlights  and  side  lights,  and  a 
Palladian  window  in  the  center  of  the  second  story.  The  GRAVE  OF 
JAMES  A.  CLARK,  marked  with  a  tall  obelisk,  is  a  short  distance  from 
the  Winchester  High  School  upon  whose  grounds  the  mansion  stands. 
Clark  was  the  twelfth  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1836-39). 

This  town  was  the  birthplace  and  early  home  of  Joel  T.  Hart  (1810- 
70),  sculptor. 

Winchester  is  at  the  junction  with  State  15  (see  Tour  2)  and  US  227 
(see  Tour  17 A). 

Right  from  Winchester  on  the  Colbyville  Rd.  to  the  junction  with  Becknerville 
Rd.  5  m.;  L.  on  Becknerville  Rd.  to  COLBYVILLE  TAVERN,  5.2  m.  The  two-story 
brick  farmhouse  was  one  of  the  three  large  buildings  that  enclosed  a  court  into 
which  the  stagecoach  could  be  driven,  as  in  old  English  taverns.  The  walls  of  this 
old  house  are  laid  in  Flemish  bond,  four  bricks  thick. 

US  60,  between  Winchester  and  Lexington,  was  first  known,  and  is 
still  referred  to,  as  Strode's  Rd.,  named  for  a  station  erected  about  one 
mile  west  of  the  present  limits  of  Winchester. 

The  marker  on  the  SITE  OF  THE  JOHN  STRODE  CABIN,  124.8  m.,  com- 
memorates the  founder  of  this  station,  who  came  from  Berkeley  County, 


TOUR  i 6  395 

Virginia,  in  1776,  and  built  his  cabin  here.  In  the  spring  of  1779  he 
induced  a  number  of  men  from  his  home  county,  whom  he  found  at 
Boonesboro,  to  accompany  him  back  to  this  site.  They  built  about  30 
cabins  and  erected  a  stockade  around  them,  a  defense  work  about  300 
feet  long  and  100  feet  wide,  in  which  they  sheltered  themselves  against 
the  British  and  Indians,  and  reared  their  children  in  comparative  safety. 

The  McCoRMicK  SEED  HARVESTER  WORKS  (open  to  public),  125  m. 
(R),  a  one-story  frame  structure  covered  with  sheet  metal,  manufac- 
tures machines  for  harvesting  Bluegrass  seed.  The  operating  principle 
is  that  of  the  closely  serrated  board  once  used  by  slaves  to  strip  the 
matured  heads  of  the  bluegrass  of  their  seed.  The  machine,  operated 
by  one  man,  can  harvest  10  to  15  acres  a  day. 

In  this  region  were  formerly  several  famous  cattle  farms,  which  have 
since  been  broken  up  into  smaller  units.  The  earliest  and  most  notable 
was  the  Matthew  Patton  farm  on  which,  in  1795,  were  the  first  pure- 
bred shorthorn  cattle  west  of  the  Alleghenies.  At  the  old  Renick  farm, 
the  shorthorn  was  brought  to  such  a  state  of  perfection  that  breeders 
from  other  countries  came  to  it  to  purchase  their  stock. 

The  W.  R.  SPAHR  HOUSE  (L),  126.3  m.,  a  massive  two-story  red 
brick  house,  built  after  the  War  between  the  States,  has  a  classic  two- 
story  portico  visible  at  the  end  of  an  avenue  of  tall  trees. 

The  JOHN  WINN  PLACE  (L),  127  m.,  a  fine  old  two-story  red  brick 
house  of  Victorian  style,  was  built  around  1878  to  replace  a  much  older 
frame  house.  It  stands  in  a  grove,  almost  hidden  from  the  road. 

The  DAVID  PREWITT  PLACE  (R),  129.7  m.,  also  known  as  Dunreath, 
is  typical  of  the  estates  along  US  60  between  Winchester  and  Lexington 
that  were  acquired  during  the  early  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  house  is  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  road  on  a  lawn  shaded  by 
locust,  wild  cherry,  ash,  maple,  and  walnut  trees.  In  the  1840's, 
J.  Howard  Sheffer,  then  living  in  a  log  cabin,  fenced  off  this  area  and 
gave  instructions  to  mow  around  every  tree  shoot  in  order  to  improve 
the  setting  for  the  home  he  planned  to  erect.  The  two-story  red  brick 
building  is  Georgian  Colonial  in  style  with  a  one-story  white  frame 
porch  across  the  front.  The  roof  line  drops  several  feet  to  that  of  a 
two-story  wing  at  the  right.  The  bricks,  laid  in  Flemish  bond,  as  well 
as  the  lime  for  the  plaster,  were  burned  on  the  place.  The  timber  was 
cut  from  near-by  woodlands,  and  the  roofing  was  brought  from  Belgium. 

The  BENJAMIN  GRAVES  HOMESTEAD  (L),  130.5  m.,  also  known  as 
the  Wilson  House,  is  a  two-story  red  brick  structure  standing  in  a 
grove  a  short  distance  from  the  road. 

LEAFLAND  (R),  132.1  m.,  was  built  almost  a  century  ago  by  Jacob 
Hughes,  and  is  the  oldest  of  three  mansions  associated  with  him.  In  his 
day  Hughes  was  one  of  the  leading  farmers  and  stock  traders  in  Ken- 
tucky and  was  Fayette  County's  representative  in  the  legislature.  He 
owned  6,000  acres  of  land  in  Fayette  and  near-by  Clark  and  Bourbon 
Counties.  The  other  two  houses,  the  Prewitt  House  and  the  Benjamin 
Graves  Homestead,  were  built  by  Hughes'  sons-in-law  (J.  H.  Howard 
Sheffer  and  Benjamin  Graves).  Like  most  of  the  homes  in  the  region, 


396  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Leafland  stands  among  beautiful  trees.  All  the  mantels  are  of  marble 
and  the  interior  trim  is  unusually  fine. 

The  ALBERTI  HOUSE  (R),  132.4  m.,  is  a  one-story  white  frame  build- 
ing suggestive  of  an  Italian  villa,  with  a  two-story-central  section  that 
gives  height  to  the  porch.  It  is  surrounded  and  partly  hidden  by  a 
grove  of  trees.  The  estate  was  established  during  the  second  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century  by  Doctor  Alberti,  a  physician  of  the  Blue- 
grass.  His  son,  T.  L.  B.  Alberti,  owned  and  conducted  a  wagon  freight 
line  with  a  large  business  between  the  iron  furnaces  of  Powell  and  Estill 
Counties  and  Lexington;  as  many  as  a  dozen  six-horse  teams  were  in 
use  daily  for  hauling  pig  iron  from  the  furnaces  to  Lexington. 

A  short  distance  off  the  road  (R),  at  133.4  m.,  is  the  MACEDONIAN 
CHRISTIAN  CHURCH,  built  in  1928  as  a  memorial  to  J.  H.  Graves,  a 
farmer  of  Fayette  County.  It  is  constructed  in  the  style  of  a  Greek 
temple,  of  rough  local  stone.  The  portico  has  five  fluted  Doric  columns 
supporting  a  simple  pediment. 

HAMBURG  PLACE  (L)  is  at  136.3  m.,  including  THE  IROQUOIS  HUNT 
AND  POLO  CLUB  and  THE  NANCY  HANKS  HORSE  GRAVEYARD  (see  Lex- 
ington). 

LEXINGTON  141.4  m.  (957  alt.,  45,736  pop.)  (see  Lexington). 

Points  of  Interest:  Homes  of  Henry  Clay,  Gen.  John  Hunt  Morgan,  Mary  Todd 
Lincoln,  and  John  Bradford;  Transylvania  College,  University  of  Kentucky,  loose- 
leaf  tobacco  market. 

Lexington  is  at  the  junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4),  US  27  (see 
Tour  3),  and  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

Section  b.  LEXINGTON  to  LOUISVILLE;  832  m.,  US  60 

West  of  Lexington,  0  m.,  US  60  passes  CALUMET  FARM  (R),  at 
4.7  m.  (see  Lexington). 

The  OLD  KEENE  PLACE  (R),  6.2  m.,  a  stately  light-painted  brick 
mansion,  was  built  about  1790  on  an  8,000-acre  tract  granted  to  Francis 
Keene  of  Fauquier  County,  Virginia,  by  his  kinsman,  Patrick  Henry, 
then  Governor  of  Virginia.  The  house  is  symmetrical  in  plan  and  has 
a  two-story  five-bay  central  section  and  low  one-story  wings.  Extend- 
ing across  the  entire  width  of  the  central  section  is  a  deep  portico,  sup- 
ported on  square  paneled  wooden  columns  and  topped  with  a  bracketed 
cornice  and  latticed  rail;  the  slender  proportions  of  the  columns  are 
typical  of  the  post-Colonial  architecture  of  Kentucky.  The  stiff  sym- 
metry of  the  fagade  is  broken  by  the  position  of  the  central  window  of 
the  second  story,  which  is  off  axis  with  the  unusual  double  doorway 
below.  The  house  stands  on  a  broad,  tree-shaded  lawn.  Lafayette  was 
a  house  guest  here  during  his  visit  to  Lexington  in  1825.  Adjoining 
the  Keene  estate,  which  now  includes  but  20  acres  of  the  original  tract, 
is  the  new  KEENELAND  RACE  TRACK  (R),  6.4  m.  (see  Lexing- 
ton). 


TOUR   16  397 

At  10.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  Pisgah  Rd. 

Right  on  this  road  to  the  stone  PISGAH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  (R) ,  0.7  m.,  built 
in  1812  and  later  remodeled  in  the  Gothic  Revival  style.  An  early  activity  of  this 
congregation  was  the  sponsorship  of  an  academy  from  which  Transylvania  Univer- 
sity grew. 

At  12.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  Payne  Mill  Rd. 

Right  on  this  road  to  BUCK  POND  (R),  1.2  m.,  the  house  built  in  1784  by  Col. 
Thomas  Marshall,  father  of  John  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  on 
land  granted  for  services  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  On  a  slight  elevation  at  the 
end  of  an  avenue,  this  dignified  old  log  house  weatherboarded,  with  a  tall  two- 
story  pedimented  portico,  has  been  modernized  in  recent  years  and  a  one-story 
wing  has  been  added  to  each  side. 

At  1.9  m.  on  the  Payne  Mill  Rd.  is  (R)  the  TOMB  OF  GEN.  MARQUIS  CALMES, 
a  Revolutionary  officer  from  Virginia,  who  designed  and  erected  it  for  himself. 
This  stone  vault,  with  an  opening  in  one  side,  is  in  a  field  on  an  elevation  and  sur- 
rounded by  young  trees.  Near  by  is  a  stone  chimney,  a  REMNANT  OF  THE  CALMES 
HOUSE,  destroyed  by  fire  in  1937.  General  Calmes  and  Colonel  Marshall  settled 
across  the  road  from  each  other  on  lands  granted  them  at  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lution. 

VERSAILLES,  14.1  m.  (923  alt.,  2,224  pop.),  seat  of  Woodford 
County,  was  named  by  General  Calmes  for  Versailles,  France,  as  a 
tribute  to  Louis  XVI  for  his  timely  aid  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  The 
town  was  established  in  1792  on  the  lands  of  Hezekiah  Briscoe,  an  in- 
fant, the  title  being  vested  in  "a  number  of  gentlemen  landowners," 
among  whom  was  Gen.  Marquis  Calmes.  The  town  site  is  a  circle 
whose  radius  is  600  yards  and  whose  center  is  the  courthouse.  On 
Main  St.  is  the  SITE  OF  WATKINS  TAVERN,  a  noted  inn  of  early  days 
kept  by  Henry  Watkins,  Henry  Clay's  stepfather.  The  old  landmark 
burned  down  about  1932,  being,  at  the  time,  considerably  more  than 
100  years  old.  MARGARET  HALL  (R),  an  Episcopal  school  for  girls,  is 
a  fine  example  of  the  mansion  of  ante-bellum  days.  Near  the  eastern 
edge  of  the  campus  is  a  monument  to  General  Calmes. 

Versailles  is  at  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14),  the  two  routes 
are  united  for  1.3  miles. 

At  26.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  40  (see  Tour  17). 

FRANKFORT,  29.1  m.  (512  alt.,  11,626  pop.)  (see  Frankfort). 

Points  of  Interest:  State  Capitol,  State  Cemetery,  Liberty  Hall,  and  old  houses. 

Frankfort  is  at  the  junction  with  State  35  (see  Tour  5)  and  State  40 
(see  Tour  17). 

JUNIPER  HILL  (R),  30.7  m.,  is  a  parklike  estate  of  approximately 
200  acres.  The  house,  almost  entirely  hidden  from  view  by  trees  and 
shrubs,  is  a  large  two-story  stone  structure.  A  low  stone  wall  on  the 
estate  follows  the  winding  highway  up  the  hill. 

THISTELTON  (L),  30.8  m.,  is  better  known  as  the  old  Taylor  estate, 
having  been  founded  by  E.  H.  Taylor,  Jr.,  a  distiller.  The  three-story 
frame  house  is  an  excellent  example  of  Victorian  elegance.  Behind  the 


398  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

stone  wall  that  borders  the  estate  are  sloping  grounds  covered  with 
trees  and  shrubbery. 

From  the  crest  of  a  hill,  31  m.,  is  a  fine  view  of  the  Kentucky  River 
Valley  including  Frankfort  with  the  State  capitol.  - 

JEPTHA  KNOB  (1,163  alt.),  44.9  m.,  rising  (L)  abruptly  from  the 
rolling  countryside,  is  a  cryptovolcano,  one  that  has  never  reached  an 
eruptive  stage. 

The  SITE  OF  CROSS  KEYS  TAVERN  (R)  is  at  46.5  m.;  it  was  opened 
in  1800  by  Adam  Middleton,  a  blacksmith  from  Virginia,  on  the  Old 
Wilderness  Rd.  Bed,  board,  and  bourbon  cost  "six  bits."  It  is  esti- 
mated that,  between  the  years  1800  and  1825,  Cross  Keys  Tavern 
sheltered  more  than  10,000  travelers  on  the  old  dirt  road.  Nothing 
remains  but  the  former  slave  quarters — a  row  of  low  rambling  build- 
ings of  wood  and  stone. 

SHELBYVILLE,  51.9  m.  (760  alt.,  4,033  pop.),  a  lively  Main  Street 
town  that  is  the  seat  of  Shelby  County,  was  founded  in  1792  and 
named,  as  was  the  county,  for  Isaac  Shelby,  Kentucky's  first  Governor. 
The  first  settlement  in  the  area  was  at  Painted  Stone,  near  by.  There, 
in  1779,  Squire  Boone,  brother  of  Daniel  Boone,  built  a  fort  that  for 
more  than  a  year  was  the  only  refuge  on  the  road  between  Harrodsburg 
and  Louisville.  In  1781  the  settlers,  warned  of  the  approach  of  In- 
dians, started  for  the  stronger  fort  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  They  were 
attacked  near  Humes  Station  on  Long  Run  Creek,  and  dispersed  after 
having  lost  40  to  50  men,  women,  and  children.  Col.  John  Floyd,  with 
37  men,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  but  at  Eastwood,  Floyd's 
men  were  ambushed  and  14  of  them  were  killed.  In  all  nearly  100 
whites  were  killed  or  captured  during  this  raid.  Shelbyville,  after  its 
turbulent  early  days,  gradually  became  a  placid  town  of  pleasant  homes 
and  the  trade  center  of  a  fertile  agricultural  area. 

SCIENCE  HILL  (open  by  permission),  6th  and  Washington  Sts.,  is  a 
school  for  girls  founded  in  1825.  The  low  rambling  two-story  structure, 
partly  covered  with  ivy,  has  grown  room  by  room  and  addition  by 
addition  since  the  institution  was  established.  An  octagonal  cupola 
surmounts  the  roof  over  the  enclosed  court. 

The  two-story  brick  WATKINS  HOUSE,  painted  gray,  cor.  of  3rd  and 
Washington  Sts.,  was  built  in  1800  for  Isaac  Watkins,  who  maintained 
a  stagecoach  inn. 

Right  from  Shelbyville,  on  State  43,  to  CROPPER,  10.2  m.,  a  hamlet.  Left 
from  Cropper  on  an  improved  road  to  PLEASUREVILLE,  16.6  m.  (822  alt.,  341 
pop.),  where  in  1784  a  Dutch  group  endeavored  to  establish  a  communal  colony 
on  10,000  acres  of  farmland  purchased  from  Squire  Boone.  The  colony  was  not 
a  success  but  many  of  the  settlers  remained  and  much  of  the  tract  is  now  indi- 
vidually owned  by  descendants  of  the  settlers. 

OLD  STONE  INN  (R),  59.4  m.,  is  a  tavern  that  has  been  in  operation 
continuously  since  its  establishment  more  than  100  years  ago.  Although 
local  legend  says  it  was  erected  before  Kentucky  became  a  State,  more 
reliable  sources  give  the  date  as  1794.  The  stone  used  in  its  construe- 


TOUR  i 6  399 

tion  was  hauled  from  Nelson  County  in  an  oxcart.  The  one-and-one- 
half-story  tavern  has  three  dormers  in  front  and  two  stone  chimneys  at 
each  end.  The  partition  walls  of  stone  are  21  inches  thick.  The 
original  flooring,  ship-oak  on  the  first  and  poplar  on  the  second  floor, 
and  the  hand-grooved  casings  still  remain.  Old  Stone  Inn  was  built 
for  a  home  but  had  to  be  sold  before  it  was  entirely  completed. 

SIMPSONVILLE,  59.9  m.,  a  hamlet  dating  from  1816,  was  named 
for  Capt.  John  Simpson  of  Shelbyville,  killed  in  the  Battle  of  the  River 
Raisin,  January  22,  1813. 

LINCRAFT  FARM  (L),  60.5  m.,  is  a  25-acre  model  farm,  with  which 
Lincoln  Institute  demonstrates  the  possibilities  of  a  small  farming  unit 
with  the  aid  of  a  Negro  family.  The  farmhouse  is  a  modern  two-story 
white  frame  building  with  barns  and  outbuildings  at  the  rear. 

LINCOLN  INSTITUTE  (L),  60.9  m.,  at  Lincoln  Ridge,  is  an  endowed 
vocational  and  agricultural  high  school  for  Negro  boys  and  girls — the 
only  one  of  its  kind  in  Kentucky.  As  the  result  of  the  law  passed  by 
the  State  legislature  in  1904,  which  prohibited  attendance  of  Negroes 
at  institutions  attended  by  whites,  part  of  the  Berea  College  endowment 
(see  Tour  4)  was  used  to  establish  this  school  for  Negroes.  The  two 
institutions  now  have  no  connection,  except  that  by  tradition  some  of 
the  trustees  and  the  president  of  Berea  College  are  also  trustees  of 
Lincoln  Institute.  The  legislature,  in  1937,  enacted  a  law  that  requires 
each  county  where  there  are  no  Negro  high  schools  to  pay  the  tuition 
of  Negro  students  who  attend  high  school  in  some  other  locality ;  many 
of  these  are  sent  to  Lincoln  Institute.  Its  444-acre  farm  supplies  the 
table.  On  the  campus  there  are  two  three-story  dormitories,  an  ad- 
ministration building,  an  industrial  arts  building,  and  a  central  heating 
plant,  all  constructed  of  red  brick  and  trimmed  with  stone. 

At  64.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  improved  side  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  LONG  RUN  BAPTIST  CHURCH  (R),  2.1  m.,  on  Long  Run 
Creek,  so  named  because  of  the  long  flight  down  its  valley  by  those  who  escaped 
an  Indian  attack.  The  church,  a  very  plain  red  brick  gabled  building,  has  two 
entrance  doors.  Two  hundred  yards  north  of  the  church  is  the  site  of  the  cabin 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  grandfather  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  a  President  of  the  United 
States.  Although  some  historians  believe  Lincoln  died  near  Springfield,  it  is  gen- 
erally agreed  that  beneath  the  whig  of  the  old  church  is  the  GRAVE  OP  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN'S  GRANDFATHER. 

When  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  grandfather,  migrated  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky, 
between  1782  and  1784,  he  settled  near  Green  River  in  Lincoln  County;  later  he 
moved  to  this  place,  which  was  near  Hughes  Station.  One  day  while  he  was  work- 
ing near  this  cabin  he  was  killed  by  an  Indian.  Mordecai,  his  son,  shot  the  at- 
tacker, saving  the  members  of  the  family,  among  them  his  youngest  brother, 
Thomas,  who  was  to  become  the  father  of  a  President. 


At  70.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  old  US  60. 


Left  on  this  road  to  MIDDLETOWN,  0.3  m.  (772  alt.,  315  pop.),  founded  in 
1797.  In  the  center  of  the  town  is  MIDDLETOWN  INN  (R),  built  more  than  a  cen- 
tury ago  with  24-inch  walls,  of  brick  and  stone.  The  double  front  entrance  has 
fanlights  and  side  lights,  and  the  original  ash  floor  boards  are  still  in  use.  The 
wide  veranda  across  the  front  is  a  later  addition. 


400  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

The  DOUGLAS  HOMESTEAD  (L),  71.3  m.,  on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  is  a 
spacious  country  house  built  before  the  War  between  the  States.  It  is 
a  two-story  structure  of  brick  painted  gray  and  is  surrounded  by  large 
trees  and  shrubbery.  The  estate,  once  a  stock  and -race  horse  breeding 
place,  is  now  a  dairy  farm. 

At  75.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  22  (see  Tour  13). 

ST.  MATTHEWS,  77  m.  (550  alt.,  2,551  pop.),  is  a  community 
village  that  is  a  shipping  point  for  large  quantities  of  Irish  potatoes. 

Right  from  St.  Matthews  on  the  Westport  Rd.  to  RIDGEWAY,  0.5  m.,  a  good 
example  of  the  Classical  Revival  style  of  architecture.  With  a  well-designed  cen- 
tral section  flanked  by  outlying  wings,  it  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  Maryland 
plantation  houses.  The  portal,  protected  by  a  portico  with  four  delicate  columns, 
gives  entrance  to  a  wide  arched  hall  that  leads  into  a  cross  corridor;  this  in  turn 
gives  access  to  the  wings.  The  woodwork,  including  mantels  in  each  room,  is  hand- 
carved  with  lightness  and  delicacy,  characteristic  of  the  style.  The  house  was  built 
in  1804  for  Major  Henry  Massey  and  his  bride,  Helen  Bullitt  Massey. 

US  60  passes  the  SOUTHERN  BAPTIST  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  (R), 
78.8  m.,  housed  in  attractive  Georgian  Colonial  style  buildings,  erected 
in  1926. 

LOUISVILLE,  83.2  m.  (525  alt.,  307,745  pop.)  (see  Louisville). 

Points  of  Interest:  Speed  Museum,  Memorial  Auditorium,  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Churchill  Downs,  Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  Cherokee  Park,  and  others. 

Louisville  is  at  the  junction  with  US  31W  (see  Tour  7),  US  42  (see 
Tour  12),  US  3 IE  (see  Tour  6). 

Section  c.    LOUISVILLE  to  MISSOURI  LINE,  291.8  m. 

US  60,  southwest  of  Louisville,  passes  through  the  Knobs  country 
of  Jefferson  County,  especially  beautiful  in  the  spring  when  the  redbud 
and  dogwood  trees  are  in  bloom.  For  much  of  the  distance  it  follows 
the  sweeping  curves  of  the  Ohio,  with  its  verdant  meadows,  forest- 
covered  hills,  and  old  river  towns. 

Between  LOUISVILLE,  0  m.,  and  Tip  Top  US  60  and  US  31W  are 
one  route  (see  Tour  7). 

In  ST.  HELEN'S,  5.8  m.,  is  the  LOUISVILLE  AND  JEFFERSON  COUNTY 
HOME  (L)  for  the  aged  and  infirm. 

WAVERLY  HILLS  TUBERCULOSIS  SANATORIUM  (L),  12  m.,  on  the 
heights  overlooking  the  Ohio  and  the  blue  hills  beyond  the  river,  is  a 
municipally  owned  institution  under  the  administration  of  a  board  of 
10  directors,  appointed  jointly  by  the  fiscal  court  of  Jefferson  County 
and  the  director  of  health  of  Louisville.  It  has  accommodations  for 
515  patients.  Since  its  incorporation  in  1907,  $1,500,000  has  been 
expended  on  improvements. 

KOSMOSDALE,  18.5  m.  (67  pop.),  is  a  company  town  of  the 
Kosmos  Portland  Cement  Company. 


TOUR    I  6  4OI 

WEST  POINT,  22.5  m.  (740  alt.,  697  pop.),  strung  along  the  high- 
way at  the  confluence  of  the  Salt  and  Ohio  Rivers,  is  a  rambling  village 
founded  in  1800.  Many  of  its  houses  have  double-decked  galleries 
running  completely  around  them.  In  YOUNG'S  INN,  on  locust-shaded 
Main  St.,  Jenny  Lind  sang  for  the  crowd  gathered  in  the  public  room 
during  her  tour  of  1851.  Across  the  road  from  the  inn  is  the  JAMES 
YOUNG  HOUSE,  a  fine  old  brick  structure  built  by  the  innkeeper.  Also 
on  Main  St.  is  the  LAKE  HOUSE,  a  venerable  brick  residence,  with  an 
Ionic  portico. 

Between  West  Point  and  Muldraugh,  US  60  winds  over  Muldraugh 
Hill  (alt.  786),  on  a  treacherous  stretch  of  road  (drive  carejully,  espe- 
cially on  the  curve  at  overhead  bridge). 

MULDRAUGH,  29.1  m.  (750  alt.,  200  pop.),  was  at  one  time  the 
central  post  office  for  mail  addressed  to  all  towns  along  what  is  now 
US  60  as  far  west  as  Hardinsburg.  Here  are  storage  tanks  for  the  gas 
supply  of  Louisville. 

TIP  TOP,  30.6  m.,  is  at  the  southern  junction  with  US  31W  (see 
Tour  7). 

West  of  Tip  Top,  US  60  crosses  a  region  of  wooded  knobs  and  ex- 
tensive areas  of  farm  land.  Kentucky's  first  natural  gas  was  tapped  in 
this  area  in  1858. 

Several  Indian  skirmishes  occurred  among  the  knobs  and  groves. 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  were  of  English  and  Scottish  extraction,  and 
the  folklore  and  ballads  of  those  lands  still  survive.  An  old  Highland 
superstition  persists  that  a  male  child  who  cries  and  raises  one  hand 
at  birth  is  born  to  command.  The  belief  that  infants  born  "open 
handed"  will  be  frank  and  bountiful  and  that  those  whose  hands  are 
tightly  closed  will  be  frugal  and  close-mouthed,  is  purely  English.  An- 
other Scotch  superstition,  one  that  many  old  folk  still  cling  to,  is  that 
if  a  child  makes  marks  upon  the  furniture  it  is  "marking  himself  a 
grave-house"  and  will  soon  die. 

At  31.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  unimproved  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  GARNETTSVILLE,  2.3  m.  (55  pop.),  and  the  OTTER 
CREEK  MILL,  which  has  been  in  continuous  operation  since  1808.  This  hamlet  is 
on  the  border  of  the  2,348-acre  OTTER  CREEK  RECREATIONAL  DEMON- 
STRATION AREA.  Although  most  of  this  land  is  no  longer  suited  to  agriculture 
it  is  still  beautiful  with  heavily  wooded  hills  and  valleys,  varied  rock  formations, 
and  large  caverns  from  which  streams  flow.  Otter  Creek,  a  stream  of  varying 
width,  forms  a  giant  horseshoe  700  to  800  feet  across.  The  National  Park  Service 
is  (1939)  reforesting  and  controlling  soil  erosion  in  this  area  and  building  log 
cabins,  stone  ovens,  trailer  campgrounds,  and  other  picnicking  and  camping  con- 
veniences as  well  as  many  recreational  facilities.  Daniel  Boone  and  his  brother, 
Squire  Boone,  came  here  in  1774  to  look  over  the  land  and  Squire  Boone  remained 
and  became  an  itinerant  Baptist  preacher.  Adjoining  the  Ohio  River,  at  the  mouth 
of  Otter  Creek,  on  a  tract  of  approximately  4,000  acres,  Squire  Boone's  son,  Enoch, 
built  a  house ;  his  descendants  still  live  in  the  vicinity.  The  Boone  burial  ground 
is  near  the  old  Buffalo  Road  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  Meade  County. 

GRAHAMPTON,  33.2  m.  (644  alt.,  300  pop.),  is  on  both  banks  of 
Otter  Creek. 


402  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

The  GRAHAMPTON  TEXTILE  MILL  (R),  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
creek,  is  a  three-story  structure  with  walls  of  stone  set  in  random 
courses.  The  adjoining  warehouse,  formerly  a  gristmill,  has  solid  oak 
structural  columns,  beams,  and  joists.  Its  founders,  Graham  and 
Sneed,  operated  a  textile  mill  in  Louisville,  from  1829  to  1837,  when 
they  moved  the  machinery  to  this  place,  sending  it  down  the  Ohio 
River  from  Louisville  to  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek  and  dragging  it  up 
the  valley  over  an  extremely  steep  and  rough  trail  with  the  aid  of  oxen. 
This  mill  has  been  described  as  "probably  the  first  mill  of  its  kind 
west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains."  About  80  years  ago  the  old  frame, 
millrace,  and  dam  were  replaced  by  the  present  stone  ones.  This  dam, 
with  buttresses  at  each  end  and  arch  facing  upstream,  is  of  exactly  the 
same  plan  as  the  irrigation  dams  under  construction  today.  This  mill 
from  the  beginning  has  used  steam  in  the  textile  department,  but  for 
grinding  grist  and  other  auxiliary  purposes  water  power  has  been 
utilized.  During  the  War  between  the  States  the  Grahampton  mill 
was  run  at  full  capacity  except  when  it  was  stopped  to  repair  damages 
inflicted  by  straggling  bands  of  soldiers. 

At  42  m.  on  US  60  is  a  junction  with  a  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  DOE  RUN  HOTEL,  0.6  m.,  an  old  water-power  mill,  the 
main  part  of  which  was  built  in  1821  by  Thomas  Stevenson,  an  Englishman.  The 
mill,  which  like  textile  mills  in  early  days,  ground  grist  as  a  side  line,  was  built  at 
the  headwaters  of  Doe  Run  Creek.  This  place  was  a  favorite  hunting  ground  of 
Daniel  Boone  and  his  brother,  Squire,  who  was  nicknamed  "Bible  Boone."  The 
first  recorded  land  entry  of  500  acres,  made  on  October  IS,  1780,  included  "four 
springs  and  a  sulphur  lick,"  and  the  site  of  this  mill.  The  old  part  of  the  mill  is 
three  full  stories  high,  with  finished  basement.  The  massive  foundation  is  of  local 
limestone.  The  superstructure  consists  of  a  framework  of  great  hewn  timbers  of 
black  walnut,  exposed  to  view;  the  walls  of  field  stone  display  the  skilled  work- 
manship. The  surface  of  the  timbers  has  acquired  a  satin  smoothness,  and  the 
stone  wall  is  colored  by  moss  in  various  shades  of  green.  The  millstones  were 
brought  from  France  to  New  Orleans,  thence  by  way  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio 
Rivers  to  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek.  The  vicinity  of  the  old  mill  is  a  popular  spot 
for  community  frolics,  and  a  Fourth  of  July  picnic  has  been  held  here  annually 
since  1893. 

BRANDENBURG,  45.9  m.  (356  alt.,  484  pop.),  the  seat  of  Meade 
County,  which  was  formed  in  1823,  was  named  for  Col.  James  Meade. 
This  community  was  incorporated  in  1825,  a  year  after  its  first  court 
had  convened.  It  bears  the  name  of  Col.  Solomon  Brandenburg,  an 
early  settler  who  had  seen  service  in  the  War  of  1812.  When  the  rail- 
road built  its  line  three  miles  from  the  town,  the  citizens  saved  the 
town's  existence  by  building  a  hard-surfaced  road,  the  first  in  the  county, 
from  the  center  to  the  station.  When  the  principal  highway  was  ex- 
tended along  the  ridge  top,  leaving  the  business  section  on  a  side 
street,  the  commercial  district  began  gradually  to  move  to  the  highway. 
Brandenburg's  Main  Street,  nevertheless,  continues  to  thrive;  the  coun- 
tryfolk and  townspeople  mingle  around  the  stores  and  the  courthouse, 
where,  for  generations,  they  and  their  forebears  have  gathered. 


TOUR    I  6  403 

On  a  hill  overlooking  Main  St.  and  the  river  stands  the  MEADE 
COUNTY  COURTHOUSE  (R),  which  is  more  than  a  hundred  years  old 
and  contains  historic  records  bearing  on  social  institutions  of  an  earlier 
day,  such  as  the  following:  "Henry  Dawes,  a  poor  child,  is  apprenticed 
to  Henry  R.  Turnstall  on  this  day,  April  26,  1824,  to  learn  the  mystery 
of  carding  and  spinning  in  its  several  branches.  Henry  R.  Turnstall 
shall  provide  the  above  named  Henry  Dawes  with  meat,  drink  and 
apparel,  lodging,  washing  and  other  necessities.  In  addition  to  the 
above,  Henry  Dawes  shall  be  taught  reading,  writing  and  common 
arithmetic,  including  the  rule  of  three." 

On  Main  St.  is  (R)  the  SITE  OF  WALNUT  TAVERN,  operated  by 
Solomon  Brandenburg. 

Right  from  US  60  on  a  graveled  street  to  the  BUCKNER  HOMESTEAD  (open), 
0.5  m.,  on  a  hillside  that  commands  a  view  of  the  Ohio  for  IS  miles.  The  one-story 
frame  house  was  built  in  1855  by  Col.  Robert  Buckner,  a  soldier  of  the  War  of 
1812.  The  fagade  is  broken  by  four  20-pane  windows  and  a  very  wide  doorway 
with  side  lights  and  a  transom.  In  the  roof  above  the  doorway  is  a  small  gable 
with  a  large  fanlight.  The  house  is  noteworthy  for  its  hand-carved  mantels,  hand- 
grooved  weatherboarding,  and,  in  its  main  hall,  a  winding  staircase  of  the  quarter- 
turn  spiral  type.  For  a  time,  during  the  War  between  the  States,  Gen.  John  Hunt 
Morgan  had  his  headquarters  in  this  house.  This  point  was  admirable  as  a  look- 
out, and  served  as  a  base  for  Morgan's  operations  across  the  river.  Cannon  sta- 
tioned on  the  hillside  commanded  Marvin's  Landing  on  the  Indiana  bank  and  af- 
forded protection  to  troops  while  crossing  here.  When  the  MASONIC  BUILDING 
(R),  a  two-story  structure,  was  the  Brandenburg  Academy  (1816-26),  the  sur- 
rounding property  was  its  campus.  Federal  troops  were  housed  here  during  the 
war. 

The  METHODIST  CHURCH  (R),  built  around  1838  on  the  former  campus  of  Bran- 
denburg Academy,  has  been  somewhat  changed  externally.  In  1880  the  belfry 
was  replaced  by  a  spire  and  the  two  front  entrances,  one  for  men  and  the  other 
for  women,  were  replaced  by  a  central  entrance.  The  gallery  for  slaves  has  been 
removed  and  there  are  now  chairs  instead  of  pews. 

IRVINGTON,  57  m.  (620  alt.,  764  pop.),  a  thriving  trade  center, 
was  the  scene  of  frequent  depredations  during  the  Reconstruction  pe- 
riod. Bands  of  raiders,  following  the  course  of  the  Ohio,  looted  the 
rich  farms  of  the  region  around  Irvington,  seized  livestock  and  produce, 
and  transported  their  booty  to  the  Indiana  shore. 

HARNED,  69.7  m.  (777  alt.,  175  pop.),  is  at  the  junction  of  State 
65,  a  graveled  road. 

Left  on  this  road  2.1  m.  to  the  junction  with  State  223;  L.  on  State  223  to 
KINGSWOOD  CHRISTIAN  COLLEGE,  3.3  m.,  opened  in  1937  by  a  small  fundamentalist 
group  for  the  training  of  ministers  and  missionaries.  The  campus  is  on  a  high  ele- 
vation, and  the  buildings  consist  of  four  plain,  two-story  white  frame  structures. 
In  the  tabernacle  amphitheater,  in  the  wooded  valley  below  the  campus,  camp 
meetings  have  been  held  annually  in  the  past.  Dr.  J.  W.  Hughes,  who  had  founded 
Asbury  College  (see  Tour  15)  at  Wilmore,  founded  a  Holiness  college  here  that 
ceased  operation  in  1932. 

HARDINSBURG,  73.6  m.  (715  alt.,  805  pop.),  seat  of  Breckin- 
ridge  County,  came  into  existence  in  1780  as  a  fort  built  by  Capt. 


404  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

William  Hardin,  soldier  and  frontiersman,  who  was  known  to  the  In- 
dians as  "Big  Bill."  Breckinridge  County  was  formed  in  1799,  and 
named  in  honor  of  John  Breckinridge,  United  States  Senator  (1801-05) 
and  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  (1805-06).  In  recent  years 
the  town  has  become  the  headquarters  of  four  firms  that  contract  with 
women  for  the  manufacture  of  robes,  quilts,  comforters,  novelties,  and 
other  objects  decorated  with  fine  needlework.  This  is  largely  a  cottage 
industry  resembling  that  of  the  pre-factory  days  in  England.  Though 
the  returns  from  the  work  are  low  and  the  women  are  not  paid  for 
the  time  spent  carrying  their  work  to  and  from  the  office  or  waiting 
for  inspection  of  their  handicraft,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  finding  work- 
ers on  the  surrounding  farms  where  cash  incomes  are  low.  The  beau- 
tiful articles  retail  at  very  high  prices. 

Between  Hardinsburg  and  Cloverport,  US  60  follows  a  devious  course 
through  a  hilly  region. 

CLOVERPORT,  85.4  m.  (386  alt.,  1,324  pop.),  a  river  town  estab- 
lished in  1808,  is  an  industrial  community  with  a  roofing  plant.  In 
1816  when  the  Lincoln  family,  consisting  of  Thomas,  his  wife,  Nancy, 
their  son  and  daughter,  moved  from  Hodgenville  to  Indiana,  they  were 
ferried  across  the  Ohio  River  here.  Lincoln  was  driving  a  yoke  of  oxen 
hitched  to  a  cart,  to  which  a  cow  was  tied.  Several  decades  later  Col. 
David  R.  Murray,  who  had  been  a  boy  living  here  when  the  Lincolns 
passed  through,  gave  the  description  of  the  event:  "On  account  of 
the  unusual  size  of  the  oxen,  a  crowd  soon  gathered  to  find  out  who 
these  people  were  and  where  they  were  going.  .  .  .  Old  Minerva,  a 
colored  slave,  who  had  been  attracted  to  the  scene,  seeing  the  condition 
of  the  children,  went  back  into  the  house  and  came  back  immediately 
with  a  plate  heaped  with  slices  of  homemade  bread  covered  with  butter, 
a  pitcher  of  milk,  and  some  cups.  She  seated  the  children  on  the  steps 
of  my  father's  house  and  fed  them.  When  they  left  Hardinsburg,  they 
drove  to  Cloverport  to  get  across  the  river.  In  those  days  there  were 
no  ferry  boats,  and  passengers,  whenever  any  came  along,  were  set 
across  in  a  canoe.  When  the  Lincolns  reached  the  ferry,  a  raft  was 
made,  with  the  assistance  of  several  people,  and  the  wagon  placed  upon 
it.  With  one  man  in  the  canoe  to  pull  and  one  man  on  the  rear  of  the 
raft  to  push  with  a  long  pole  (the  river  was  low  at  the  time),  the 
Lincolns  were  ferried  across  to  the  Indiana  shore  and  landed.  Then 
they  came  back,  and  the  two  oxen  and  the  cow  were  made  to  swim 
over." 

The  water  of  TAR  SPRINGS,  88.7  m.  (R),  has  the  odor  and  taste  of 
tar.  This  place  was  formerly  a  popular  resort. 

JEFFERY  CLIFF  (R),  92.3  m.,  a  rocky  bluff  rising  from  the  low- 
land near  the  Ohio,  has  a  40-acre  tablelike  top  shaped  like  a  huge 
hand;  the  jagged  edges  of  its  five  jutting  fingers  are  covered  with  a 
variety  of  trees  and  flowers.  In  the  palm  of  the  hand,  many  streams 
wind.  Jeffery  Cliff,  once  the  site  of  a  stockaded  Indian  village,  was 
named  for  an  eccentric  Englishman  who,  for  many  years,  lived  on  it. 


TOUR    I  6  405 

From  parking  spaces  (R)  are  exceptional  views  of  the  broad  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  bordered  on  the  north  by  the  level  reaches  of  Indiana  farm 
lands.  Six  miles  upstream  the  river  bends  around  a  prominent  high- 
land, where  the  boat  on  which  Lafayette  was  a  passenger  is  said  to  have 
been  wrecked  in  1824.  A  narrow  channel  at  the  bend,  bordered  by 
dangerous  rocks,  gave  the  name  of  Rock  Island.  Downstream  the  view 
includes  the  Indiana  towns  of  Cannelton,  Tell  City,  and  Troy. 

INDIAN  LAKE  (L),  92.3  m.,  on  a  high  plateau  surrounded  by  low 
hills,  is  a  private  resort  for  sportsmen.  Its  fishing,  boating,  swimming, 
and  camping  facilities  are  available  only  to  members  and  their  guests. 

HAWESVILLE,  96  m.  (423  alt.,  790  pop.),  seat  of  Hancock  County, 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  River,  is  partly  surrounded  by  hills.  Incor- 
porated in  1836,  it  was  named  for  Richard  Hawes,  who  owned  the  land 
on  which  the  town  site  was  platted.  The  county  bears  the  name  of 
John  Hancock,  president  of  the  Continental  Congress  (1775-77).  From 
Hawesville  many  plants  are  shipped,  including  cabbages,  sweet  potatoes, 
peppers,  tomatoes  and  "hands"  of  tobacco.  Approximately  2,500,000 
pounds  of  tobacco  are  mailed  annually  by  parcel  post. 

Among  the  records  in  the  Hancock  County  clerk's  office  at  the  court- 
house are  a  mortgage  lien  filed  in  November  1855  against  the  Barnum 
and  Bailey  circus,  by  Madame  Flouroies;  a  mortgage  lien  dated  No- 
vember 11,  1873,  attaching  the  steamboat  Big  Sun  Flower,  which  was 
built  at  Lewisport;  a  lien  filed  against  a  Negro  church  building  for  a 
debt  of  $43.15  due  to  the  pastor;  and  numerous  mortgages  on  slaves. 

Down  the  slope  from  the  courthouse,  on  a  side  street  leading  toward 
the  river  and  making  an  abrupt  turn  (R)  at  the  railroad,  are  two  old 
houses.  Immediately  in  their  rear  is  a  row  of  six  caves.  One  now 
serves  as  a  garage,  another  is  used  to  store  coal,  a  third  to  shelter 
implements  and  tools,  and  a  fourth  has  become  a  cold  storage  cellar. 
The  remaining  two  are  utilized  by  the  occupants  of  the  houses  as  sleep- 
ing quarters  in  the  summer.  The  temperature  within  the  caves  never 
varies  from  60°  F. 

On  a  high  hill  directly  opposite  the  south  side  of  the  courthouse  is 
LOVER'S  LEAP.  Here  on  the  craggy  top  are  seven  huge  boulders 
carved  with  hundreds  of  names  and  dates,  most  of  which  are  no  longer 
legible.  Local  legends  explain  the  name  by  not  one  but  several  Indian 
maidens  who  died  for  love  in  the  traditional  fashion.  One  of  the 
heroines  was  called  Negahnakee.  Her  brave  was  killed,  probably  in 
action.  Grief-stricken,  she  plunged  over  the  rocky  edge. 

Hawesville  is  connected  with  Cannelton,  Ind.,  by  24-hour  ferry 
service.  Here  the  Lincoln  Memorial  Highway  will  cross  the  Ohio  River 
in  following  the  approximate  course  of  the  Lincoln  family  when  it 
moved  from  Hodgenville  to  Indiana. 

At  106  m.  is  LEWISPORT  (393  alt.,  574  pop.), 

Left  from  Lewisport,  on  a  dirt  road,  to  the  old  PATE  FARM  HOUSE,  4.4  m.,  where 
in  1827  Abraham  Lincoln  was  brought  before  Magistrate  Sam  Pate  on  a  charge  of 
infringement  of  ferry  privileges.  According  to  local  tradition,  Lincoln,  then  em- 


406  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

ployed  in  Indiana,  was  hailed  before  the  squire  after  he  had  rowed  a  passenger  to 
a  boat  in  midstream,  which  was  blocked  from  the  landing  by  a  sand  bar.  Though 
unprepared  in  law,  the  18-year-old  Lincoln  served  as  his  own  counsel  and  was 
exonerated.  The  house  in  which  the  trial  was  held  is  a  two-story  weatherboarded 
log  structure,  built  about  1822.  Near  it,  in  an  old  cemetery,  is  the  well-marked 
GRAVE  or  CAROLINE  THRASHER  (nee  Meeker),  said  to  have  been  a  sweetheart  of 
Lincoln's. 

MACEO,  115.1  m.  (100  pop.),  is  on  the  site  of  Rosebud,  a  village 
laid  out  by  a  group  of  railroad  officials.  Difficulties  arose  over  the 
title  to  the  property,  and  Rosebud  wilted  away.  Later  a  settlement 
was  established  here  and  named  Powers'  Station  in  honor  of  Col.  J.  S. 
Powers,  an  official  of  the  L.  H.  &  St.  L.  R.R.  When  a  post  office  was 
granted,  the  name  was  changed  to  Maceo  to  avoid  confusion  with 
Powers'  Store,  another  post  office  in  Daviess  County.  Maceo  honors 
Capt.  Alonzo  Maceo,  a  mulatto,  who  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  Cuba's 
war  for  independence  from  Spain.  Its  population  is  made  up  largely 
of  Negroes,  many  of  whom  were  given  land  here  by  their  masters  at 
the  close  of  the  War  between  the  States.  The  village  is  a  shipping 
point  for  molding  clay  dug  in  the  vicinity. 

A  time-honored  occasion  in  almost  any  Negro  settlement  in  Kentucky 
is  the  "chittlin"  feast.  Commonly  known  in  this  State  as  Kentucky 
oysters,  chitterlings  (hog  intestines)  may  be  prepared  in  several  dif- 
ferent ways.  The  old-time  Negro  cook  usually  buys  them  by  the  pail, 
cleans  and  soaks  them  in  salt  water,  then  either  boils  them  until  they 
are  tender  or  fries  them  in  grease.  Potato  salad  and  hard  cider  fre- 
quently comprise  the  rest  of  the  menu.  Fondness  for  chitterlings  is 
not  entirely  confined  to  Negroes.  One  well-known  Kentucky  Congress- 
man, it  is  said,  annually  made  a  trip  from  Washington  to  his  home 
State  for  "a  good  mess  of  chittlins." 

Left  from  Maceo  on  an  unmarked  graveled  road  to  CARPENTER  LAKE  (fish- 
ing), 2.5  m.,  formed  in  1937  by  the  construction  of  an  earth-fill  dam  377  feet  long. 
Carpenter  Lake,  the  mecca  of  anglers  in  this  section  of  western  Kentucky,  is  owned 
by  the  State  and  is  under  the  supervision  of  the  State  Department  of  Conservation. 
Along  its  four-mile  tree-bordered  shore  are  many  cottages. 

OWENSBORO,  124.7  m.  (765  alt.,  22,765  pop.),  second  largest  city 
in  western  Kentucky,  is  a  bustling  oil  town  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio 
River.  It  is  in  an  agricultural  area  at  the  northern  edge  of  the  western 
Kentucky  coal  fields.  Owensboro  was  first  known  as  Yellow  Banks, 
because  of  a  six-mile  stretch  of  unusual  yellow  clay  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  here.  In  1815,  when  Daviess  County  was  formed,  Yellow 
Banks  was  chosen  county  seat  and  its  name  changed  to  Rossborough  to 
honor  David  Ross,  the  owner  of  much  property.  A  charter  granted  in 
1866  renamed  it  Owensboro  for  Col.  Abraham  Owen,  a  Virginian  who 
came  to  Kentucky,  took  an  important  part  in  the  early  Indian  wars, 
and  fell  at  the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe.  Daviess  County  was  named  for 
Col.  Joseph  Hamilton  Daviess,  also  slain  in  the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe. 
Colonel  Daviess — who  married  Nanny  Marshall,  sister  of  John  Mar- 


TOUR    I  6  407 

shall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States — had  moved  to  this  section  in 
1806  and  had  settled  on  a  5,000-acre  tract  on  a  ridge  overlooking  the 
Ohio  River.  Here  he  built  Cornland,  a  beautiful  two-story  brick  house. 
The  first  lawyer  from  the  country  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  to 
appear  before  the  U.S.  Supreme  Court,  Colonel  Daviess  was  appointed 
U.S.  District  Attorney  for  Kentucky  by  President  Thomas  Jefferson. 
While  holding  this  office  Daviess  attempted  to  bring  Aaron  Burr  to 
trial  on  a  conspiracy  charge,  but  was  frustrated  by  the  absence  of  im- 
portant witnesses  and  finally  by  the  judge's  denying  Daviess  the  right 
to  appear  before  the  grand  jury.  By  the  time  of  the  War  between 
the  States,  Owensboro  had  become  important  as  a  river  port,  and  a 
number  of  skirmishes  took  place  here.  In  September  1862  a  Con- 
federate regiment,  under  Col.  Robert  M.  Martin,  entered  the  town, 
demanding  unconditional  surrender  of  the  Federals  under  Colonel 
Netter,  at  near-by  Camp  Silas  B.  Miller.  Colonel  Netter  preferred 
to  fight.  After  a  second  skirmish  had  taken  place  at  Sutherland  Hill 
on  the  same  day,  the  Confederate  forces  withdrew  from  this  vicinity. 
When  Owensboro  was  raided  by  guerrillas  in  August  1864  and  partly 
burned,  the  courthouse  was  destroyed. 

Daviess  County  is  next  to  the  largest  tobacco-producing  county  in 
Kentucky.  In  Owensboro  are  two  LOOSE-LEAF  SALES  FLOORS  and  eight 
factories  for  processing  and  grading  tobacco.  The  city  has  also  two 
large  distilleries  and  factories  making  radio  tubes  and  electric  light 
bulbs. 

The  PLANTERS'  HOTEL,  4th  and  Main  Sts.,  was  built  in  1846.  Among 
the  signatures  on  its  register  are  those  of  Jenny  Lind,  the  singer,  and 
Mary  Anderson,  Shakespearean  actress. 

On  Griffith  Ave.  (L)  is  the  GRIFFITH  HOUSE,  built  by  William  R. 
Griffith  in  1828.  The  large  hand-made  locks,  bearing  coats  of  arms, 
were  brought  from  Philadelphia.  The  house  is  of  Georgian  Colonial 
design,  but  a  modern  front  porch  has  been  substituted  for  the  original 
columned  portico. 

Left  from  Owensboro  on  State  54  to  SORGHO  (750  alt.,  120  pop.),  8.9  m.;  L. 
from  Sorgho  on  State  56,  to  MOUNT  SAINT  JOSEPH  (Maple  Mount  P.O.),  6.4  m., 
an  Ursuline  convent  and  educational  institution  founded  in  1874.  The  academy 
connected  with  the  convent  was  established  in  1880,  and  the  junior  college  in  1926. 
Both  are  fully  accredited.  Mount  Saint  Joseph  is  the  mother-house  of  a  commu- 
nity of  Ursuline  nuns,  a  teaching  order  of  women  founded  in  Italy  in  1535.  The 
500  rolling  and  terraced  acres  are  landscaped  with  shrubbery  and  flowers.  The 
original  building,  a  three-story  brick  structure  painted  gray,  holds  parlors,  a  library, 
a  museum,  and  music  and  art  rooms.  In  the  museum  are  relics  and  a  variety  of 
specimens  for  the  study  of  natural  science.  The  chapel  is  in  the  Tudor-Gothic 
style,  with  stained  glass  windows  made  by  Munich  artists. 

The  highway  on  a  bridge  (toll  30(/:),  144.6  m.,  crosses  GREEN 
RIVER,  widely  known  for  the  beauty  of  its  waters  and  for  muskellunge 
fishing.  It  is  the  narrowest  river  in  Kentucky  that  can  float  a  full- 
sized  steamboat  for  any  great  distance.  Six  locks  and  dams  provide  a 


408  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

constant  five-foot  channel.    Its  name  was  suggested  by  its  color,  which . 
is  caused  by  the  depth  of  the  water. 

At  153.3  m.  is  a  junction  with  US  41  (see  Tour  8),  which  is  united 
with  US  60  between  this  point  and  Henderson. 

HENDERSON,  154.7  m.  (382  alt.,  11,688  pop.),  seat  of  Henderson 
County,  is  on  the  high  red  bluffs  facing  the  mile-wide  Ohio  River. 
Many  well-kept  country  estates  and  spacious  old  homes  are  on  the 
wooded  hills.  The  town  was  founded  by  the  Transylvania  Company 
(later  known  as  the  Richard  Henderson  Company)  in  the  year  1797, 
on  200,000  acres  granted  to  the  company  by  the  State.  The  first  settle- 
ment, made  in  and  around  the  old  stockaded  village  of  Red  Banks,  was 
named  for  Col.  Richard  Henderson,  leader  of  the  company. 

On  the  original  plat  of  the  town,  which  is  in  the  courthouse,  all  the 
streets  were  1 00  feet  wide,  and  the  entire  river  front — two  and  a  quarter 
miles  long — was  municipal  property.  Today  these  wide  thoroughfares 
and  this  river  front,  which  is  being  made  into  a  continuous  park,  are 
among  Henderson's  most  attractive  features.  On  a  hill  in  TRANSYL- 
VANIA PARK,  which  divides  the  town,  is  the  HENDERSON  COUNTY 
COURTHOUSE,  a  two-story  building  of  stuccoed  brick,  completed  in 
1842.  A  pedimented  Greek  Revival  portico  with  four  Doric  columns 
and  an  octagonal  cupola  relieve  its  austerity.  Six  large  tablets  in  the 
courthouse  record  the  exploits  and  achievements  of  the  Transylvania 
Company  from  the  time  it  sent  Boone  to  cut  a  trail  into  the  wilderness 
to  the  founding  of  Henderson. 

John  James  Audubon,  the  ornithologist,  whose  home  was  here  from 
1810  to  1819,  lived  in  a  little  log  house  near  the  corner  of  Main  and 
2d  Sts.  On  the  same  corner  was  his  general  merchandise  store  and 
near  by  his  frog  and  turtle  pond.  Second  St.  was  formerly  known  as 
the  Old  Mill  Rd.,  being  the  route  used  from  the  country  to  Audubon's 
mill. 

The  LOCKETT  HOUSE  (open),  at  the  corner  of  Elm  and  Jefferson  Sts., 
is  a  one-story  frame  dwelling  on  a  brick  foundation.  It  was  built  in 
1856  for  Judge  Paschal  Hickman  Lockett,  nephew  of  Capt.  Paschal 
Hickman,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Battle  of  the  River  Raisin  during 
the  War  of  1812.  In  the  sitting  room  of  this  house  is  the  first  coal-oil 
lamp  used  in  Henderson  County.  It  was  brought  from  New  Orleans 
by  Judge  Lockett  in  1856.  In  1862,  when  the  news  came  to  Judge 
Lockett  that  the  Federal  soldiers  had  crossed  the  Ohio,  and,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Shanklin  of  Evansville,  Ind.,  were  stationed  in 
the  woods  near  his  home,  he  had  the  slaves  remove  part  of  the  cellar 
wall  and  dig  a  trench  in  which  he  hid  valuables  as  well  as  the  contents 
of  the  smokehouse  and  other  provender.  The  massive  front  door  still 
shows  the  scars  made  by  the  gun  butts  of  soldiers  who  were  attempting 
to  gain  entrance,  when  Captain  Shanklin,  having  just  learned  that  Mrs. 
Lockett  was  his  former  sweetheart,  restrained  them. 

The  LAZARUS  POWELL  HOUSE  (open),  216  South  Elm  St.,  was  built 
in  1818  by  the  father  of  Lazarus  W.  Powell,  United  States  Senator  and 


TOUR    I  6  409 

later  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1851-55).  The  older  part  of  the  two- 
story  frame  structure,  designed  in  the  Georgian  Colonial  style,  has  two 
huge  square  rooms  on  each  floor  that  flank  wide  central  halls.  The 
stairway,  simply  constructed  of  beautiful  hardwood,  is  satin-smooth 
through  long  usage.  The  side  lights  beside  the  paneled  doors  are  of 
old  glass.  These  doors  have  hand- wrought  butterfly  hinges  and  two 
of  them  have  the  original  locks  bearing  the  arms  of  William  IV  of 
England.  In  1857  two  rooms  of  brick  were  added,  one  for  a  private 
study  and  one  for  a  bedroom.  The  slave  quarters  are  still  in  the  back 
yard. 

The  P.  J.  LAMBERT  HOUSE,  South  Main  St.,  built  about  1830,  has 
wrought-iron  balustrades  and  balcony,  and  red-brick  steps. 

ST.  PAUL'S  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  corner  of  Center  and  Green  Sts.,  of 
English  Gothic  design,  is  a  copy  of  the  famous  old  church  at  Stoke 
Poges,  England.  The  three  stained-glass  windows  of  the  chancel,  por- 
traying scenes  from  the  life  of  St.  Paul,  were  made  in  Holland.  There 
are  also  several  memorial  windows  and  a  tablet  dedicated  to  Bishop 
Channing  Moore  Williams,  a  native  of  Henderson,  who  built  the  first 
Protestant  church  in  Japan  and  with  the  Reverend  John  Liggins  was  the 
first  Protestant  missionary  in  Japan. 

Henderson  is  at  the  junction  with  US  41  (see  Tour  8). 

Left  from  Henderson  on  State  54,  a  graveled  road  to  the  GREGORY  PLACE  (L), 
2.8  m.,  one  of  the  oldest  estates  in  the  Pennyrile.  Here,  enclosed  by  an  iron  fence, 
is  the  GRAVE  OF  GEN.  SAMUEL  HOPKINS,  agent  and  attorney  for  Col.  Richard  Hen- 
derson and  often  called  Henderson's  foster-father.  On  the  WILLIAM  D.  LAMBERT 
ESTATE  (R),  2.8  m.,  is  a  stately  Georgian  Colonial  mansion  built  on  a  lofty  hill 
overlooking  miles  of  green  fields  and  pleasant  valleys.  It  is  a  massive,  two-story 
structure  of  red  brick,  with  limestone  trim;  its  lines  are  accentuated  by  the  white- 
ness of  the  woodwork  and  its  proportions  remain  excellent  despite  several  addi- 
tions. 

At  157.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  136,  an  improved  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  GENEVA,  4  m.;  R.  here  to  INDIAN  VALLEY  FARM,  11  m., 
established  in  1840  by  Haywood  Alves,  son  of  Walter  Alves,  an  original  grantee  of 
the  Transylvania  Company.  Walter  Alves  and  his  wife  Amelia  Johnson  Alves, 
whose  share  was  one-eighth  of  the  grant  of  200,000  acres,  left  their  miles  of  Ohio 
River  frontage  to  their  several  children.  Haywood,  the  second  son,  chose  this  site 
opposite  DIAMOND  ISLAND.  The  Georgian  Colonial  house  is  brick,  the  main 
part  two  stories,  with  one-story  wings.  On  the  front  of  the  house  are  deep  French 
windows  and  a  square  porch.  Quantities  of  arrowheads  and  other  artifacts  have 
been  found  on  this  farm  which  is  a  part  of  the  Old  Indian  Valley,  a  favorite  camp 
site  of  tribes  on  hunting  trips  into  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  Shortly  after  1800 
this  site  and  Diamond  Island  were  the  rendezvous  of  the  infamous  Mason  band, 
and  of  Little  Harpe  who  joined  Mason  after  Big  Harpe  had  been  beheaded  (see 
Tour  8).  These  land  pirates  preyed  on  travelers  going  down  the  Ohio  River  on 
flatboats.  Fortesque  Cuming  told  of  stopping  at  beautiful  Diamond  Island  in 
his  Tour  to  the  Western  Country,  published  in  1810,  and  said  that  from  20  to  30 
bandits  lived  there.  .  .  .  These  pirates  were  finally  driven  out  of  the  vicinity  by  a 
company  of  local  "regulators."  Diamond  Island  was  approximately  three  miles 
long  and  a  half  mile  wide  in  Mason's  day.  It  was  covered  with  gigantic  trees  and 


410  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

luxuriant  vines  and  presented  "so  wonderful  a  scene"  that  it  attracted  early  trav- 
elers.   Today  it  is  a  cornfield,  noted  for  its  fertility. 

At  172.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  141,  an  improved  road. 

Right  on  State  141  to  ST.  VINCENT'S  ACADEMY  (R),  0.6  m.,  surrounded  by 
century-old  trees.  This  Roman  Catholic  institution  was  established  in  1820.  First 
known  as  Little  Nazareth  for  the  mother-house  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Naza- 
reth (see  Tour  6),  it  was  established  as  a  girls'  boarding  school  by  three  nuns  who 
journeyed  150  miles  on  horseback  with  all  their  belongings  sewed  in  a  tow-cloth 
apron.  The  bricks  in  the  old  building  were  burned  by  the  nuns  in  their  own  kiln 
and  then  were  trundled  by  them  in  wheelbarrows  to  the  brickmason  who  did  the 
construction  work.  The  academy  consists  of  a  coeducational  graded  school  and  a 
high  school  for  girls. 

MORGANFIELD,  178.1  m.  (439  alt.,  2,551  pop.),  built  on  rolling 
uplands,  is  the  seat  of  Union  County,  whose  farmers  early  pioneered  in 
replacing  "scrub"  beef  stock  with  purebred  sires  and  in  growing  the 
soil-enriching  Korean  lespedeza.  Seed  from  this  clover  was  shipped  to 
many  parts  of  the  country.  A  2 6 -acre  combined  city  park,  playground, 
and  athletic  field  is  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  town.  Morganfield  and 
the  surrounding  region  were  the  scene  of  several  skirmishes  during  the 
War  between  the  States. 

STURGIS,  189.1  m.  (375  alt.,  2,154  pop.),  is  the  home  of  the  West 
Kentucky  Coal  Corporation  and  center  of  the  bituminous-coal  industry 
of  Union  County. 

MARION,  208  m.  (1,892  pop.),  seat  of  Crittenden  County,  was  in- 
corporated in  1844  and  named  for  Gen.  Francis  Marion,  Revolutionary 
War  hero.  The  town  is  the  principal  Kentucky  shipping  point  for 
fluor  spar.  A  company,  headed  by  Andrew  Jackson  and  organized  to 
mine  galena  for  the  silver  it  contained,  in  1815  sank  the  first  shaft  in 
this  region.  When  Jackson  found  that  the  galena  here  has  a  low  silver 
content,  he  disposed  of  the  thousands  of  acres  of  land  to  which  he  had 
acquired  title.  Because  its  value  was  unknown,  the  fluor  spar  was  not 
utilized  until  the  time  of  the  War  between  the  States.  The  industry 
was  at  its  peak  during  the  World  War,  when  mines  were  operated  at  full 
capacity.  About  75  percent  of  the  production  is  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  steel  products  and  many  large  steel  corporations  have  secured 
holdings  in  this  field.  Fluor  spar  is  also  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  artificial  marble  for  soda-water  fountains  and  the  enamel  used  on 
bath  tubs,  imitation  cut  glass,  and  other  glass  products. 

Fluor  spar  is  mined  by  sinking  shafts  down  the  perpendicular  vein; 
some  mines  reach  a  depth  of  600  feet  but  the  veins  of  fluor  spar  are 
believed  to  extend  a  much  greater  distance.  A  pneumatic  drill  breaks 
up  the  mineral  which  is  dynamited  and  brought  to  the  surface  on  steam 
hoists.  Mining  shafts  are  common  throughout  the  region;  many 
farmers  have  erected  them  in  their  own  yards.  Some  of  the  crystals  are 
exquisite  shades  of  purple,  saffron-yellow,  delicate  pink,  blue,  green, 
and  violet. 


TOUR    l6  411 

Right  from  Marion  on  State  91,  a  graveled  road,  to  FORD'S  FERRY,  11  m., 
across  the  Ohio  River  from  Cave  in  Rock  on  the  Illinois  shore.  Here  on  the  Illinois 
side  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  Wilson's  Liquor  Vault  and  House  of  Entertain- 
ment was  operated.  The  place  became  infamous  for  deeds  of  villainy  and  licen- 
tiousness committed  by  a  band  of  about  45  men  who  operated  here  and  at  Hur- 
ricane Island,  about  10  miles  down  the  river.  Wilson  finally  lost  his  life  at  the 
hands  of  one  of  his  own  men,  who  was  tempted  by  the  large  reward  offered  for 
Wilson's  head. 

At  208.3  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  297,  a  graveled  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  TOLU  (250  pop.),  11  m.,  on  the  Ohio  River.  Dr.  W.  D. 
Funkhouser  of  the  University  of  Kentucky  has  uncovered  burial  places  as  well  as 
many  ornaments  and  utensils  of  the  prehistoric  mound  builders.  Many  of  the 
beads  are  of  local  fluor  spar. 

SALEM,  219.1  m.  (32  pop.),  a  hamlet  in  the  center  of  a  fertile 
valley,  is  on  the  western  slope  of  a  low  hill.  The  old  log  houses  of  the 
early  settlers  who  came  here  with  their  slaves  from  Virginia  and  Caro- 
lina, once  dotted  this  region.  There  is  nothing  now  in  old  Salem  to 
indicate  that  from  1798  to  1842  it  was  the  seat  of  Livingstone  County. 
When  in  1842  the  county  seat  was  transferred  to  Smithland  most  of 
the  inhabitants,  together  with  the  county  officials  and  lawyers,  moved 
away. 

The  GRAVE  OF  LUCY  JEFFERSON  LEWIS  (R),  231.2  m.,  is  marked  by 
a  granite  shaft.  Lucy  Jefferson,  only  sister  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  was 
born  in  Virginia  in  1752  and  in  1808  moved  to  Kentucky  with  her 
husband,  Dr.  Chas.  Lilburn  Lewis,  from  Albemarle  County,  Virginia. 
She  was  the  youngest  child  of  the  Jefferson  family.  The  Lewises, 
imbued  with  the  current  enthusiasm  for  the  West,  migrated  to  Ken- 
tucky and  settled  on  a  lonely,  rocky  hillside — now  known  as  Lewis 
Hill — overlooking  the  Ohio  River,  part  of  a  military  grant  given  Lewis 
as  a  reward  for  his  services  in  the  American  Revolution.  Dr.  Lewis 
was  said  to  have  been  of  an  unsociable  nature,  given  to  moods  and 
queer  mannerisms.  He  soon  tired  of  his  Kentucky  home  and  left  his 
family,  supposedly  to  return  to  his  large  Virginia  estate.  It  is  said 
that  Lucy  Jefferson  Lewis  also  pined  for  her  Virginia  home  but  she 
died  here  in  1811. 

US  60  crosses  the  LUCY  JEFFERSON  LEWIS  MEMORIAL  BRIDGE  (toll 
50$),  234  m.,  which  spans  the  willow-hung  Cumberland  River,  near  the 
point  where  the  stream  ends  its  winding  journey  of  687  miles. 

SMITHLAND,  234.6  m.  (286  alt.,  519  pop.),  spreads  along  a  high 
bluff,  above  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Cumberland.  This 
quiet  little  village  was  once  looked  upon  as  the  coming  metropolis  of 
this  entire  region.  Its  heyday  was  in  the  days  when  both  the  Ohio 
and  the  Cumberland  teemed  with  commerce.  From  Pittsburgh  and 
from  New  Orleans  came  the  floating  passenger  palaces  and  great  freight 
carriers.  Smithland's  busy  wharves  served  as  a  transfer  point  for  pas- 
sengers and  cargoes  bound  for  inland  points. 

Christian  Schultz,  who  visited  Smithland  in  1807,  wrote  of  the  early 


412  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

town  in  his  Travels  on  an  Inland  Voyage:  "At  the  mouth  of  Cumber- 
land— known  by  its  more  ancient  name  of  Shawanese  River — is  a  small 
settlement  called  Smith  Town,  consisting  of  only  five  houses.  The 
situation,  however,  is  extremely  eligible  for  further  improvement.  .  .  . 
Most  of  the  boats  descending  to  New  Orleans  and  Memphis  generally 
make  a  halt  here,  either  for  hams,  provisions,  boats  or  repairs.  .  .  . 
It  appears  to  be  a  kind  of  inland  port,  where  run-away  boys,  idle  young 
men,  and  unemployed  boatmen,  assemble  to  engage  as  hands  on  board 
of  any  boats  that  may  happen  to  call.  An  amusement  has  already  been 
introduced  at  this  place,  which  although  excusable  in  large  towns  and 
cities,  yet  in  a  new  country,  and  especially  in  an  infant  settlement  like 
this,  cannot  be  too  much  condemned.  You  will  scarcely  believe,  that 
in  a  place  just  emerging  from  the  woods,  which  although  advantageously 
situated,  can  prosper  only  by  dint  of  industry  and  care,  and  where  the 
girdled  trees  which  surround  its  houses  threaten  with  every  storm  to 
crush  the  whole  settlement,  you  will  scarcely  believe,  I  say,  that  a 
billiard  table  has  been  established,  which  is  continually  surrounded  by 
common  boatmen,  just  arrived  from  the  Salt  Works,  St.  Louis,  or  St. 
Genevieve,  who  in  one  hour  lost  all  the  hard-earned  wages  of  a  two- 
months'  voyage." 

With  the  passing  of  the  steamboat  era,  Smithland,  which  had  approxi- 
mately 3,000  residents,  languished  and  dwindled.  When  railroads  were 
built  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  Smithland  was  missed  eight  miles.  Some  old 
houses  and  taverns  still  stand  on  the  river  front,  which  is  gradually 
being  washed  away  by  the  encroaching  waters. 

Smithland  is  at  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14);  the  two 
routes  are  united  between  this  point  and  Paducah. 

US  60  crosses  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  MEMORIAL  BRIDGE  over  the 
Tennessee  River  (toll  30</;)  at  246.9  m. 

At  248.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

PADUCAH,  250.7  m.  (341  alt.,  33,541  pop.)  (see  Paducah). 

Points  of  Interest:  Paduke  Statue,  Tilghman  Memorial,  McCracken  County 
Courthouse,  Noble  Park,  Marine  Ways,  Brazelton  House,  Illinois  Central  Shops, 
and  others. 

Paducah  is  at  the  junction  with  US  45  (see  Tour  9),  US  62  (see 
Tour  14),  and  US  68  (see  Tour  15). 

KEVIL,  269.7  m.  (439  alt.,  231  pop.),  is  the  home  of  Mary  Lanier 
Magruder,  writer  of  short  stories  and  poems. 

In  BARLOW,  278.8  m.  (614  pop.),  a  small  village,  the  highway 
makes  a  right-angle  turn. 

Right  from  Barlow  on  the  Paducah-Cairo  Pike  to  CLEAR  LAKE  (R),  and 
FISH  LAKE  (L),  3  m.,  part  of  a  chain  of  lakes  that  extend  across  a  plain,  within 
a  great  bend  of  the  Ohio  River.  These  lakes,  probably  part  of  a  former  course 
of  the  Ohio  River,  provide  excellent  hunting  and  fishing.  Southeast  of  Fish  Lake 
is  BUCK  LAKE,  a  watering  place  of  buffalo  and  deer  in  the  days  when  the  Indian 
roamed  the  forests  of  Kentucky.  AX  LAKE,  northeast  of  Clear  Lake,  is  another 
popular  fishing  resort.  South  and  north  of  these  lie  numerous  small  lakes  and 


TOUR    l6  413 

ponds  that  abound  with  fish.  Lining  the  shores  of  the  lakes  are  thousands  of 
cypresses,  their  fine  foliage  outlined  in  the  deep,  clear  water.  Several  of  these  lakes 
are  used  by  the  Federal  Government  as  rearing  ponds.  At  intervals  along  the 
banks  are  screened  cabins  of  trappers,  hunters,  and  fishermen  who  rent  cabins 
and  render  service  to  those  who  visit  the  lakes. 

WICKLIFFE,  286.2  m.  (332  alt.,  1,108  pop.),  seat  of  Ballard 
County,  is  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers.  An 
eminence  near  the  northern  entrance  to  the  town  offers  a  view  of  this 
meeting  of  great  waters. 

An  ancient  BURIED  CITY  (open  daily,  adm.  $1)  is  here  on  a  lofty 
bluff  above  the  junction  of  the  two  streams.  Some  mounds  made  by 
a  prehistoric  race  are  still  intact,  while  others  have  been  opened  with 
such  care  that  all  remains  are  in  their  original  positions.  The  burial 
mound,  now  sheltered  by  a  modern  building,  contains  153  uncovered 
skeletons.  Burials  were  upon,  rather  than  within,  the  soft  alluvial  soil; 
and  charcoal  found  here  indicates  that  fire  was  used  in  some  manner 
in  connection  with  the  burials.  There  are  five  layers  of  burials,  one 
superimposed  upon  the  other.  The  lower  layers  are  in  a  better  state 
of  preservation  than  the  upper  ones.  Three  modes  of  burial  were  used: 
some  bodies  were  fully  extended,  some  were  in  bundles,  and  some 
had  been  cremated.  Many  articles  of  use  and  adornment  found  be- 
side the  bodies  indicate  that  the  race  who  lived  here  had  reached  a 
high  degree  of  culture.  Charred  remains  of  Indian  corn,  the  remnants 
of  timbers  used  in  house  construction,  the  still  existing  fireplaces,  and 
fragments  of  wooden  furniture,  all  tell  of  a  non-migratory  life.  No 
weapons,  except  one  flint  dagger,  have  been  found.  Apparently  there 
was  a  flourishing  trade  center  here  before  the  coming  of  the  white  man. 

Wickliffe  is  at  the  junction  with  US  51  (see  Tour  10)  and  US  62 
(see  Tour  14). 

Between  Wickliffe  and  East  Cairo  US  60  and  US  51  are  united. 

At  288.5  m.  is  a  junction  with  a  trail. 

Right  on  this  trail  to  HUNTERS'  POND,  0.9  m.,  one  of  the  chain  of  lakes  in 
Ballard  County ;  this  lake  is  large  and  filled  with  water  plants  and  trees.  In  the 
autumn  sportsmen  from  many  parts  of  the  region  stand  hip-deep  in  the  chilly 
waters  to  bring  down  wild  ducks  and  geese.  West  of  Hunters'  Pond  is  SWAN 
POND  covering  an  area  of  about  1,000  acres.  Between  Swan  Pond  and  FIRST 
LAKE,  the  lake  nearest  the  Ohio  River,  are  LONG  POND  and  MINOR  LAKE, 
used  as  rearing  ponds. 

At  291.3  m.  US  60  crosses  the  Illinois  Line  and  a  tip  of  Illinois  to 
the  Missouri  Line,  291.8  m.,  16  miles  east  of  Charleston,  Mo.,  by  way 
of  bridges  over  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  (combination  toll  $1). 


414  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 


Tour  17 


Warfield — Paintsville — Mount    Sterling — Georgetown — Junction    with 
US  60;  185.3  m.  State  40. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  except  for  graveled  section  between  Warfield  and  Paints- 
ville. 
All  types  of  accommodations  in  larger  towns. 

State  40  winds  through  a  mountain  area  that  was  isolated  until 
shortly  after  the  World  War,  when  this  highway  was  built.  Conse- 
quently the  mountaineers  living  in  this  region  have  for  the  most  part 
retained  their  distinctive  speech,  manners,  customs,  and  modes  of  living 
(see  Tours  1,  18  and  19).  Jagged  mountains,  pine  groves  on  inac- 
cessible pinnacles,  laurel-grown  cliffs  with  rhododendron  in  profusion 
on  the  upper  sandstone  ridges,  log  cabins,  and  tales  of  "hants"  char- 
acterize this  country.  The  topography  changes  gradually  from  moun- 
tainous terrain  to  plains  as  the  highway  crosses  the  Knobs  belt  and 
enters  the  outer  rim  of  the  Bluegrass. 

WARFIELD,  0  m.  (662  alt.,  120  pop.),  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
Tug  Fork  of  Big  Sandy  River,  opposite  Kermit,  West  Virginia,  was 
established  shortly  after  the  War  of  1812  when  George  R.  C.  Floyd 
and  associates  acquired  title  to  the  Ben  Say  Grant,  established  the 
town,  drilled  a  salt  well,  and  started  a  salt  works.  They  later  opened 
up  coal  mines,  and  shipped  the  product  by  water.  Floyd  was  a  brother 
of  John  B.  Floyd,  Governor  of  Virginia  (1830-32). 

INEZ,  10.1  m.  (600  alt.,  500  pop.),  is  one  of  the  few  unincorporated 
county  seats  in  Kentucky;  its  former  act  of  corporation  was  dissolved 
in  order  that  the  State  Highway  Commission  might  pave  State  40 
through  the  town,  construction  that  the  town  could  not  afford.  When 
a  post  office  was  established  here,  the  town  was  to  have  been  called 
Eden,  but  it  was  found  that  there  was  already  a  post  office  in  the  State 
by  that  name.  The  postmaster  at  Louisa,  then  named  the  post  office 
for  his  daughter,  Inez  Frank.  The  first  settler  was  James  Ward,  a 
veteran  of  the  Revolutionary  War  and  a  companion  of  Daniel  Boone 
on  many  of  his  hunting  expeditions  and  in  Indian  affrays.  Ward 
selected  the  site  for  his  camp  because  of  the  proximity  of  several  salt 
licks.  This  region  is  the  locale  of  Peter  Clay's  Big  Sandy  Poems,  pub- 
lished in  1890. 

Left  from  Inez  on  a  trail  to  a  small  NATURAL  BRIDGE,  1.5  m.,  in  a  setting  of 
sylvan  beauty. 


TOUR    17  415 

The  highway  gradually  descends  to  the  ridge  dividing  Martin  and 
Johnson  Counties,  and  to  the  junction,  21  m.,  with  an  improved  road. 

Left  on  this  road  4  m.  to  the  top  of  SPRING  KNOB,  on  which  is  a  forest  fire 
observatory. 

PAINTSVILLE,  33.8  m.  (620  alt.,  2,411  pop.)  (see  Tour  1),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  23  (see  Tour  1)  ;  between  Paintsville  and  a  point 
at  35.7  m.,  State  40  and  US  23  are  united. 

In  the  area  between  Paintsville  and  Oil  Springs  mining  and  petroleum 
production  are  of  importance,  though  much  small  fruit  is  harvested  for 
shipping  to  outside  markets. 

At  36.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  172,  improved. 

Right  on  this  road  to  MUD  LICK,  1.9  m.,  a  group  of  three  separate  falls  be- 
tween towering  cliffs;  the  central  falls  has  a  drop  of  about  25  feet. 

State  40  follows  the  course  of  PAINT  CREEK,  named  for  painted 
trees  found  by  early  settlers  (see  Tour  1);  whence  it  passes  through 
Road  Fork  Creek  Valley. 

At  37.5  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  graded  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  FISHTRAP,  3  m.  (camping  shelters,  50$  a  week,  10$  a 
day  each  person),  in  a  deep  gorge.  A  4-H  clubhouse  has  been  erected  here  by 
seven  counties. 

OIL  SPRINGS,  42.9  m.  (892  alt.,  150  pop.),  named  for  an  oil  pool 
(L)  caused  by  seepage,  is  on  Mine  Fork  of  Paint  Creek,  whose  name 
was  suggested  by  the  tales  of  John  Swift  and  his  legendary  silver  mine 
(see  Tour  1). 

Near  the  headwaters  of  the  State  Road  Fork  of  Paint  Creek,  44.6  m., 
the  highway  passes  through  a  grove  long  used  as  a  CAMP  MEETING 
GROUND.  Camp  meetings  are  still  held  in  rural  Kentucky  but  their 
character  has  changed  much  since  1800,  when  the  first  one  was  held  on 
Gasper  Creek  in  Logan  County.  Until  the  automobile  brought  a  de- 
mand for  the  improvement  of  roads,  the  social  life  of  people  in  the 
remote  coves  was  very  limited;  the  camp  meeting  offered  the  chief  op- 
portunity for  spiritual  comfort,  excitement,  gossip,  trading,  courting, 
and  even  electioneering.  The  pioneers,  who  h£d  shaken  off  the  Estab- 
lished Church  during  the  Revolution,  had  not  yet  found  a  substitute 
on  the  frontier  when  the  first  itinerant  preachers  arrived;  self-sufficient 
as  the  people  were  in  forcing  livings  from  the  wilderness,  they  had  a 
deep  unrest  and  a  feeling  of  insecurity  that  made  them  welcome  the 
revivalists  eagerly.  The  meetings  were  first  held  in  houses  and  then, 
when  the  audiences  overflowed,  in  groves.  The  men  who  could  best 
stir  the  emotions  drew  the  biggest  crowds  and  the  larger  the  crowd 
the  more  chance  there  was  that  hysteria  would  break  out.  One  neurotic 
could  swing  hundreds  to  a  frenzy.  The  excesses  of  the  camp  meetings 
soon  reached  a  stage  that  caused  the  more  settled  members  of  com- 


416  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

munities  to  scorn  them.  In  the  later  days  when  they  were  more  staid, 
the  meetings  became  strongholds  of  the  fundamentalists,  people  who 
sang,  "The  old  time  religion  is  good  enough  for  me,"  and  meant  it. 

State  40  continues  to  climb  to  the  watershed  between  the  Big  Sandy 
and  the  Licking  Rivers.  Though  much  of  the  roadway  in  this  imme- 
diate section  leads  through  woodland,  occasional  clearings  permit  a 
view  of  the  valley  below. 

SALYERSVILLE,  51.1  m.  (875  alt.,  446  pop.),  seat  of  Magoffin 
County,  named  for  Beriah  Magoffin,  Governor  (1859-62),  is  on  the 
Licking  River  in  a  natural  amphitheater.  It  was  first  called  Adams- 
ville  for  Uncle  Billy  Adams,  a  pioneer  noted  for  his  shrewdness,  who 
operated  a  gristmill,  a  flour  mill,  a  carding  factory,  a  tannery,  and  a 
blacksmith  shop.  When  Magoffin  County  was  formed  in  1860,  the 
town's  name  was  changed  to  honor  Sam  Salyers,  the  district's  legislative 
representative.  The  open  field  behind  the  courthouse  is  the  scene  of 
old-time  horse  trading  each  Jockey  Day  (see  Tour  4),  which  is  the 
first  day  of  the  circuit  court  term  in  January,  April,  and  September. 

At  51.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  30. 

Left  on  this  road  to  ARNETTS  GAP,  2  m.,  an  area  of  jagged  cliffs  of  unusual 
beauty,  with  a  softening  cover  of  pine,  cedar,  and  mountain  laurel.  Here  colum- 
bine and  other  wild  flowers  flourish. 

State  40  passes  along  the  winding  course  of  the  Licking  River,  occa- 
sionally climbing  out  of  the  valley  to  an  elevation  sufficiently  high  to 
give  a  commanding  view  of  distant  hills. 

WEST  LIBERTY,  74.4  m.  (777  alt.,  569  pop.),  on  the  Licking 
River,  is  the  seat  of  Morgan  County,  named  for  Gen.  Daniel  Morgan 
of  Revolutionary  fame.  The  town  is  a  trade  center  for  an  area  with 
deposits  of  cannel  coal,  which  is  richer  in  carbon  than  ordinary  bi- 
tuminous and  highly  esteemed  for  open-grate  fires  in  the  home.  The 
town's  buildings  are  of  local  stone,  brick,  dressed  wood  frame,  and  logs 
covered  with  clapboards;  some  have  adjacent  slave  quarters.  In  West 
Liberty  and  Morgan  County  there  were  more  slaves  than  in  any  of  the 
other  Kentucky  uplands. 

Right  from  West  Liberty  on  State  7,  a  graded  road,  to  the  junction,  3m., 
with  Blaze  Rd.;  L.  on  this  road  to  YOCUM  FALLS,  7  m.,  a  waterfall  slightly 
more  than  100  feet  high  in  a  setting  of  wild  beauty.  Tall  trees  grow  around  the 
basin  into  which  the  water  falls,  their  tops  reaching  almost  to  the  brink.  Huge 
rocks  at  the  foot  of  the  falls  are  gray  and  green  with  lichens  and  other  mosses, 
and  out  of  the  rock  crevices  and  spray-drenched  soil  grow  many  rare  plants. 

RIFE  SPRINGS,  8  m.,  was  once  a  health  resort  of  note.  The  mineral  spring 
flows  into  a  basin  hewn  from  the  rock  over  which  the  water  originally  flowed. 
A  moss-covered  stone  wall  enclosed  the  spring.  Near  by  are  the  RUINS  OF  THE 
RIFE  SPRINGS  HOTEL. 

Between  West  Liberty  and  Frenchburg  State  40  winds  over  an  old 
buffalo  trace,  found  by  the  Indians  when  they  entered  this  region.  The 
highway  follows  generally  the  branches  of  the  larger  creeks,  crossing 
several  watersheds  at  elevations  that  afford  a  broad  view. 


TOUR    17  417 

At  94  m.  is  the  junction  with  an  unmarked  road. 

Right  on  this  road  to  BROKE  LEG  FALLS  (camping  and  fishing  privileges, 
10$),  0.5  m.,  on  a  creek  of  the  same  name.  In  a  wild  and  primitive  setting  of 
natural  beauty  BROKE  LEG  CREEK  plunges  from  an  overhanging  rock  ledge 
more  than  100  feet  high.  Below  the  falls  is  a  quiet  ravine  enclosed  by  rocky  cliffs. 
Between  these  rock  walls  and  along  the  banks  of  the  creek  are  mountain  flowers, 
trees,  and  shrubbery,  seldom  seen  so  close  to  a  highway. 

State  40  continues  over  the  ridge  tops,  often  permitting  excellent 
views  of  the  valleys  below.  Immediately  after  the  World  War  much 
drilling  for  oil  was  carried  on  in  this  vicinity.  Abandoned  equipment 
and  a  few  producing  wells  are  noticeable. 

FRENCHBURG,  103.9  m.  (246  pop.),  the  seat  of  Menifee  County, 
is  a  quiet  old  town  in  a  valley  so  narrow  that  the  few  streets  and  the 
public  square  with  its  town  pump  occupy  practically  all  available  level 
land.  Houses  are  wedged  between  the  narrow  sidewalk  and  the  base 
of  the  mountain.  A  visitor  once  said  it  was  a  place  where  one  can  see 
in  only  a  single  direction — skyward. 

State  40  follows  a  comparatively  level  course  through  a  widening 
valley.  A  rapid  change  in  terrain,  from  mountainous  heights  through 
knobs  and  then  to  hillocks,  marks  the  approach  into  the  Bluegrass 
plain. 

MOUNT  STERLING,  126.9  m.  (934  alt.,  4,350  pop.)  (see  Tour 
16),  is  at  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16). 

NORTH  MIDDLETOWN,  140  m.  (400  pop.),  was  first  called 
Swinneytown  for  a  settler  who  had  an  inn  here.  In  1818,  when  it  was 
incorporated,  the  name  was  changed  to  Middletown  because  it  was  mid- 
way between  Paris  and  Mount  Sterling.  The  "North"  was  added  later 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  Middletown  in  Jefferson  County. 

XALAPA  (L),  141.5  m.,  is  the  estate  of  Edward  Francis  Simms, 
breeder  of  thoroughbreds.  A  stone  wall,  extending  along  the  highway 
for  two  miles,  surrounds  the  place  and  a  wide  gateway  gives  access  to 
miles  of  driveways  bordered  with  dogwood,  hawthorn,  oaks,  maples, 
lilacs,  and  evergreens.  The  one-and-one-half-story  brick  residence  is 
covered  with  Virginia  creeper ;  the  front  fagade  has  four  large  windows. 
Circular  steps  with  old  boxwood  on  each  side  lead  to  the  small  cir- 
cular portico,  which  has  slender  columns  and  an  ironwork  balustrade. 
The  paneled  doorway  has  a  delicately  leaded  fan  transom  and  side 
lights,  and  there  is  a  handsome  Palladian  window  in  the  front  gable. 
A  reproduction  of  an  old  stone  mill  contains  an  immense  recreation 
room,  a  ballroom,  a  guest  room,  a  bath,  and  a  kitchen.  The  windows 
overlook  Stoner  Creek,  which  winds  through  the  estate. 

The  house  was  built  in  1827-28  by  William  Thomas  Buckner,  who 
came  from  Virginia  in  1820.  Henry  Buckner,  a  son,  inherited  the  estate 
of  880  acres,  and,  after  his  return  from  service  in  the  Mexican  War, 
named  it  Xalapa  in  memory  of  the  little  Mexican  town  that  the  Span- 
iards called  the  "Happy  Land."  The  estate  was  purchased  by  the 


418  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

father  of  Edward  Francis  Simms  who  after  he  inherited  it  increased  the 
acreage  to  2,700. 

At  150.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15)  ;  between  this 
point  and  Paris,  State  40  and  US  68  are  united  (see  Tour  15). 

PARIS,  151.6  m.  (826  alt.,  6,204  pop.)  (see  Tour  15),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  27  (see  Tour  3),  US  68  (see  Tour  15),  and  US  227 
(see  Tour  17 A). 

Between  Paris  and  a  point  at  153.1  m.  State  40  and  US  27  are  united. 

ROSEDALE  (L),  157.1  m.,  formerly  Johnson's  Inn,  is  shown  on  Filson's 
first  map  of  Kentucky,  published  in  1784,  as  being  on  the  main  road 
between  Lexington  and  Limestone  (now  Maysville).  Tradition  relates 
that  as  many  as  50  covered  wagons  stood  in  the  yards  here  at  one  time. 
The  two-story  brick  house,  painted  white,  has  a  one-and-a-half-story 
wing  at  one  side  and  a  porch — a  later  addition — across  the  front.  The 
woodwork  of  the  interior  is  of  walnut,  the  mantels  are  carved,  and  the 
paneled  doors  have  brass  knobs.  The  old  kitchen  is  still  in  use;  its 
large  stone  fireplace  is  used  to  heat  the  rooms  as  well  as  cook  the  food. 
There  are  11  rooms,  including  the  old  bar,  which  has  six  cupboards. 
The  dining  room,  adjacent  to  the  bar,  is  30  by  18  feet,  and  was  the 
scene  of  many  brilliant  social  functions  and  dances. 

Cuming  mentioned  stopping  at  this  inn  in  1807.  He  said  that  Cap- 
tain Johnson  had  a  fine  farm  and  a  supply  of  wheat  and  corn  left  over 
from  the  previous  year. 

At  167.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14) ;  between  this 
point  and  Georgetown,  State  40  and  US  62  are  united. 

GEORGETOWN,  169  m.  (866  alt.,  4,229  pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4)  and  with  US  62  (see  Tour  14). 

Between  Georgetown  and  a  point  at  170.1  m.,  State  40  and  US  62 
are  united. 

At  171.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  227  (see  Tour  12 A). 

FORKS  OF  ELKHORN,  182.7  m.  (172  pop.),  a  rural  village,  is 
at  the  forks  of  ELKHORN  CREEK  (bass  fishing),  a  small  river  drain- 
ing the  central  area  of  the  Bluegrass.  This  river  was  so  named  because 
its  two  forks  resemble  the  branching  horns  of  an  elk.  Along  the  high- 
way are  pools  for  bass  hatchery. 

BLACK'S  POND  (R),  185  m.,  like  many  waters  of  the  Bluegrass,  is 
believed  locally  to  be  bottomless. 

The  highway  winds  and  dips  as  it  enters  the  deep  narrow  valley  of 
the  Kentucky  River. 

At  185.3  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16),  2.7  miles  east 
of  Frankfort. 


TOUR    I7A  419 


Tour  17  A 


Paris — Boonesboro — Richmond,  39.1  m.;  US  227. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

All  types  of  accommodations  in  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 

Between  Paris  and  Richmond  US  227  winds  through  that  part  of 
eastern  Kentucky  where  the  inner  Bluegrass  gives  way  to  the  outer 
Bluegrass,  with  a  hint  here  and  there  of  the  mountains  whose  foothills 
begin  only  a  few  miles  to  the  east.  The  highway  passes  black  locust 
trees  near  gates  and  roadways;  wide  pastures  shaded  with  twisted  oak, 
black  walnut,  and  beech  trees;  stock  farms  outlined  by  wooden  fences 
and  old  limestone  walls,  some  made  by  slave  labor;  great  barns,  many 
with  the  side  ventilators  indicating  their  use  for  tobacco  storage;  and 
houses  less  over-modernized  and  pretentious  than  many  found  near 
Lexington.  Spring  brings  out  the  wild  locust  bloom;  and  the  honey- 
suckle, wild  rose,  and  trumpet  vine  clamber  over  the  fences.  In  the 
stonier  sections  the  blue-berried  red  cedar  comes  up.  There  are  scatter- 
ings of  woodland — scraggly  second-growth  hickory,  oak,  maple,  and 
sycamore — but  the  greater  part  of  the  landscape  is  divided  into  wide 
squares  of  bluegrass,  corn,  and  such  soil-improving  crops  as  clover,  rye, 
and  alfalfa.  The  tobacco  patches  are  smaller,  but  they  grow  a  white 
burley  that  is  thinner  and  finer  than  silk. 

This  region  is  so  generous  that  it  was  among  the  first  to  draw  settlers, 
who  risked  torture  and  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  determined  to 
keep  their  hunting  grounds.  Besides  descendants  of  these  first  settlers, 
many  of  whom  still  live  here,  there  are  a  few  wealthy  Eastern  sports- 
men and  gentlemen  farmers. 

US  227  branches  south  from  PARIS,  0  m.  (826  alt.,  6,204  pop.) 
(see  Tour  15),  which  is  at  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15), 
State  40  (see  Tour  17),  and  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 

South  of  Paris  horse  farms  stretch  along  both  sides  of  the  road. 
Their  stone,  wire,  and  wood  paddocks  run  end-to-end  from  the  edge  of 
the  highway  back  across  the  gently  uneven  fields  dotted  with  oaks  and 
other  trees;  a  few  horses  can  be  seen  in  one  or  another  of  the  checker- 
board pastures.  Unlike  the  big  wealthy  farms  around  Lexington,  most 
of  these  farms  are  not  show  places,  but  the  use  of  low,  weathered  stone 
fences  for  paddocks  lends  a  special  charm  to  the  scene. 

In  the  CLAIBORNE  THOROUGHBRED  STUD  BARN  (open  on  request), 
1.3  m.  (L),  owned  by  A.  B.  Hancock,  were  foaled  some  of  the  greatest 
thoroughbreds  in  the  history  of  racing,  including  Gallant  Fox,  a  Derby 


420  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

winner  in  1930  and  sire  of  Omaha,  which  won  the  Kentucky  Derby  in 
1935,  and  later  won  the  Preakness,  Belmont  Stakes,  and  other  races. 
Other  famous  Claiborne  horses  are  Galahad  III,  Gallant  Sir,  Diavolo, 
Stimulus,  Alcazar,  Hard  Tak,  Reigh  Count,  and  Sir  Andrew. 

The  GAITSKILL  FARM  (R),  8  m.t  is  the  birthplace  of  John  Fox,  Jr. 
(1863-1919),  author  of  The  Trail  of  the  Lonesome  Pine,  The  Little 
Shepherd  of  Kingdom  Come,  and  other  Kentucky  stories.  The  house 
in  which  he  was  born  has  been  destroyed  by  fire. 

John  Fox,  Jr.,  the  son  of  a  schoolmaster,  entered  Transylvania  Uni- 
versity in  1878  when  he  was  only  15.  After  two  years  he  transferred 
to  Harvard  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1883,  the  youngest  man  in 
his  class.  He  joined  the  staff  of  the  New  York  Sun  and  later  entered 
Columbia  Law  School,  but  soon  abandoned  law  and  joined  the  staff  of 
the  New  York  Times.  After  a  few  months,  illness  compelled  him  to 
move  to  the  South. 

He  joined  his  father  and  brother  in  a  mining  venture  in  the  Cum- 
berland Mountains,  where  he  later  taught  school  for  a  time.  He  began 
his  literary  career  with  the  story,  "A  Mountain  Europa,"  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Century  of  September  and  October  1892.  It  was  fol- 
lowed by  "On  Hell-fer-Sartain  Creek,"  published  in  Harper's  Weekly, 
November  24,  1894.  When  the  Spanish-American  War  was  declared, 
Fox  went  to  Cuba  as  a  Rough  Rider,  but  left  the  Army  to  act  as  cor- 
respondent for  Harper's  Weekly.  His  experiences  were  written  into 
his  first  long  novel,  Crittenden  (1900).  The  Little  Shepherd  of  King- 
dom Come  (1903),  The  Trail  of  the  Lonesome  Pine  (1908),  and  other 
stories  followed.  In  1909  he  married  Fritzi  Scheff,  the  light  opera  star, 
from  whom  he  was  later  divorced.  He  died  of  pneumonia  on  July  8, 
1919,  at  Big  Stone  Gap,  Virginia,  where  he  had  lived  for  several  years. 
He  was  buried  at  Paris,  Kentucky. 

The  road  crosses  a  small,  whitewashed  COVERED  BRIDGE,  9  m.,  over 
Stoner  Creek,  the  last  of  three  such  bridges  met  in  a  five-mile  course, 
and  leaves  behind  the  wide,  fairly  open  land  with  a  thin  march  of  trees 
against  the  distant  low  horizon.  Moderate  but  repeated  rolls  and  swells 
run  back  from  the  highway  across  large  pasture  fields  and  small  corn 
and  tobacco  patches.  Few  trees  are  seen,  but  fences  of  all  kinds — 
stone,  board,  and  rail — mark  off  the  uneven  fields  for  grazing  cattle 
and  sheep.  Livestock  farming  is  good  in  this  area,  and  substantial 
modern  houses  are  met  along  the  way. 

WINCHESTER,  17.2  m.  (981  alt.,  8,233  pop.)  (see  Tour  16),  is  at 
the  junction  with  US  60  (see  Tour  16)  and  State  15  (see  Tour  2). 

At  24.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  lane. 

Right  on  this  lane  to  the  little  stone  PROVIDENCE  CHURCH,  0.5  m.,  in  constant  use 
since  it  was  built  about  1787;  this  is  one  of  the  oldest  Protestant  church  buildings 
west  of  the  Alleghenies.  It  was  built  by  members  of  the  body  known  as  the  Trav- 
eling Baptist  Church,  who  came  to  Kentucky  from  Spotsylvania  County,  Virginia, 
in  1781,  to  escape  the  church  laws  of  Virginia  (see  Tour  3).  It  was  turned  over 
to  Negro  Baptists  during  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 


TOUR    I7A  421 

Winding  past  some  rock  outcroppings  crowding  the  highway  (L), 
US  227  meets,  at  25  m.,  the  limestone  STATUE  OF  DANIEL  BOONE  (L) 
facing  the  Kentucky  River  at  the  east  end  of  the  Boonesboro  Memorial 
Bridge  (toll  30$).  The  short,  thick-bodied  figure  on  a  spreading  base, 
with  a  face  resembling  that  of  George  Washington,  wears  a  coonskin 
cap  and  carries  a  gun.  The  statue  is  the  work  of  A.  D.  Fisher  of 
Winchester. 

From  the  bridge,  which  rides  high  above  the  Kentucky  River,  opens 
(R)  one  of  that  river's  many  beautiful  gorges.  The  steep  walls  of 
carved  limestone  that  rise  perpendicularly  above  the  water  are  spotted 
with  the  brown  of  sandstone,  which  indicates  that  the  hills  are  not  far 
away.  Trees  grope  along  the  top  of  the  gorge,  and  at  the  bottom,  the 
shimmering  river  reflects  the  images  of  the  grave  masonry  overhead 
and  the  tangle  of  beech,  maple,  sycamore,  grapevine,  thunderwood, 
and  ironwood  by  its  sides.  The  gorge  ends  near  the  bridge  as  the  river 
curves  through  a  narrow  bottom  land  (L)  past  Boonesboro. 

BOONESBORO,  25.3  m.  (600  alt.,  167  pop.),  is  a  small  resort  of 
stilted  red  and  green  frame  cottages,  a  hotel,  and  a  bathing  beach 
on  the  Kentucky  River.  The  granite  Daniel  Boone  monument  is  on 
the  SITE  OF  FORT  BOONESBORO,  laid  out  in  1775  by  Daniel  Boone  and 
his  backwoodsmen  under  the  sponsorship  of  Col.  Richard  Henderson,  a 
man  prominent  in  the  political  life  of  North  Carolina.  Fascinated  by 
Boone 's  glowing  stories  of  hunting  forays  in  the  Kentucky  country, 
Henderson  had  induced  Nathaniel,  David,  and  Thomas  Hart  to  join 
him  in  founding  a  great  proprietary  colony  beyond  the  mountains.  At 
first  the  association  bore  Henderson's  name,  but  it  was  later  called  the 
Transylvania  Company,  and  the  proposed  region  was  referred  to  as 
Transylvania. 

At  a  great  council,  held  in  March  1775,  the  Cherokee,  in  return  for 
a  substantial  cash  payment,  had  ceded  to  Henderson  for  the  company  a 
vast  tract  in  what  is  now  Kentucky.  News  of  the  transaction  aroused 
the  Governors  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina;  they  denounced  the 
proceedings  by  proclamation.  Nothing  daunted,  Henderson  went  ahead 
with  his  plans.  A  party  of  30  under  Daniel  Boone  was  sent  over  the 
mountains  to  blaze  a  trail  and  lay  out  the  town  that  was  to  be  the 
capital  of  Transylvania.  Here,  on  a  plain  south  of  the  Kentucky  River, 
near  a  salt  lick  frequented  by  herds  of  buffalo,  Boone  went  to  work, 
April  5,  1775,  and  Fort  Boonesboro  began  to  take  shape.  Hender- 
son reached  the  scene  April  20,  and  at  once  called  a  convention  of  the 
people  at  the  four  stations,  St.  Asaph,  Harrodsburg,  Boiling  Springs, 
and  Boonesboro,  to  agree  on  some  form  of  government.  They  met 
under  a  magnificent  elm,  about  four  feet  thick,  later  to  be  known  as 
the  "divine  elm."  Under  its  spreading  branches  was  held  the  first  re- 
ligious service  in  Kentucky,  and  the  first  wedding  ceremony  at  Fort 
Boonesboro,  that  of  Samuel  Henderson,  younger  brother  of  the  pioneer, 
and  Elizabeth  Callaway.  The  wedding  was  solemnized  by  Squire 
Boone,  brother  of  Daniel  Boone,  on  August  7,  1776. 


422  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

When  the  real  work  of  pioneering  began,  many  of  the  first  settlers 
left  the  settlement;  some  had  joined  the  expedition  merely  from  rest- 
lessness and  a  love  of  adventure;  others  found  that  the  government  in 
the  wilderness  was  no  more  to  their  liking  than  the  one  back  home, 
and  returned  to  Virginia;  and  yet  others  became  frightened  by  ac- 
counts of  Indian  activities  and  sought  safer  spots.  But  in  the  fall  came 
new  recruits,  among  them  George  Rogers  Clark,  later  the  hero  of  the 
Northwest  Territory;  he  had  been  surveying  for  the  Ohio  Company 
and  was  picking  out  choice  sections  of  land  for  himself,  as  was  the 
custom  of  the  time.  Another  arrival  was  Simon  Kenton  (see  Tour  15), 
who  had  fled  into  the  wilderness  because  he  thought  he  had  killed  a 
man  in  a  fist-fight. 

By  the  time  the  Boone  women  arrived  in  September  cabins  and 
furniture  of  a  sort  were  in  the  making,  and  the  women  were  soon  busy 
with  soap  kettles  and  spinning  wheels.  They  helped  to  lay  aside  sup- 
plies for  the  winter,  while  the  men  continued  to  collect  pelts  for  trade. 

Colonel  Henderson  soon  found  that  purchase  from  the  Cherokee  was 
one  thing,  but  recognition  of  that  purchase  by  Great  Britain  or  Virginia, 
quite  another.  His  title  was  not  confirmed.  Opposition  to  the  trans- 
action came  first  from  the  assembly,  jealous  of  its  domain,  and  later 
from  the  settlers  at  Harrodsburg  (see  Harrodsburg),  angered  at  being 
thrust  into  the  background  by  Henderson's  intruders.  In  1776  George 
Rogers  Clark  and  John  Gabriel  Jones  were  sent  from  Harrodsburg  to 
the  Virginia  Assembly  with  a  petition  to  have  Kentucky  set  apart  as  a 
county.  The  assembly  ignored  the  protests  of  Henderson — who  had 
paid  the  Indians  10,000  pounds  and,  with  his  men,  had  labored  vigor- 
ously to  keep  Transylvania  going — and  granted  Clark's  petition.  By 
way  of  consolation,  the  Virginia  Assembly  in  1778  granted  Henderson 
200,000  acres  in  the  new  county,  between  the  Ohio  and  Green  Rivers, 
today  the  county  bearing  his  name  (see  Tour  16). 

Danger  from  Indians  at  Fort  Boonesboro  was  meanwhile  growing 
acute.  It  came  to  a  head  July  14,  1776,  when  two  daughters  of  Colonel 
Callaway  and  the  one  daughter  of  Daniel  Boone  were  captured  by 
Indians  while  on  the  river  just  outside  the  fort.  Their  cries  were  heard ; 
Boone  and  Col.  John  Floyd,  leading  a  party  of  eight,  in  which  were 
the  suitors  of  the  three  girls,  started  in  pursuit.  The  Indians  had  fled 
northward  in  the  direction  of  their  villages  across  the  Ohio,  a  trail  that 
took  them  close  to  the  present  Winchester,  North  Middletown,  and 
Carlisle.  To  guide  rescuers  Elizabeth  Callaway  had  broken  twigs  and 
brush  and  scattered  them  as  she  walked;  in  spite  of  threats,  she  next 
tore  bits  of  clothing  and  let  them  fall  on  the  path.  Although  her  fellow 
captives  had  been  persuaded  to  put  on  moccasins,  Elizabeth  kept  her 
shoes  on  and,  as  she  walked,  dug  her  heels  deep  into  the  ground. 
Boone  and  his  little  band  shortly  overtook  the  Indians,  who  fled,  leav- 
ing the  girls  unharmed. 

Early  in  1778,  returning  from  a  salt-making  expedition,  Boone  and 
1 5  companions  were  captured  by  the  Shawnee  who  demanded  that  they 
be  shown  the  way  to  Boonesboro.  Boone,  who  knew  how  unprepared 


TOUR    I7A  423 

the  fort  was,  persuaded  the  Indians  to  wait  till  spring,  but  could  not 
get  them  to  release  their  captives.  Boone  contrived  to  escape  in  June 
and,  after  a  perilous  journey,  reached  Boonesboro  where  he  found  he 
had  been  given  up  for  dead  and  that  his  wife  had  gone  back  to  her  old 
home.  He  warned  the  settlers  of  their  danger  and  hastened  defensive 
measures,  strengthening  blockhouses,  building  palisades,  and  protecting 
a  powder  magazine  in  a  sunken  place  within  the  fort. 

The  attack  was  made  September  7  by  400  braves  and  40  French- 
Canadians.  The  fort  withstood  a  siege  of  10  days  and  finally  its  small 
body  of  defenders,  not  more  than  60  able  to  bear  arms,  drove  off  the 
Indians.  Afterward  Boone  was  brought  before  a  court-martial  on  a 
charge  of  conspiracy  preferred  by  Colonel  Callaway.  Speaking  in  his 
own  defense  he  not  only  secured  acquittal  but  also  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  major. 

Although  this  victory  brought  Boonesboro  fame,  it  could  not  pro- 
long the  town's  existence.  A  small  graveyard,  on  the  river  bank  100 
yards  or  so  downstream,  is  the  only  remnant  of  the  pioneer  settlement. 
It  is  believed  to  mark  the  site  of  one  of  the  log  forts  that  withstood 
the  siege. 

The  early  history  of  Kentucky  is  more  closely  identified  with  the 
name  of  Daniel  Boone — explorer,  trail  maker,  and  Indian  fighter — 
than  with  that  of  any  other  man.  Boone  united  in  an  eminent  degree 
those  qualities  of  initiative,  courage,  native  shrewdness,  and  cool  self- 
possession  in  moments  of  emergency  that  inspired  confidence;  men  of 
wealth  and  influence  were  willing  to  trust  adventurous  enterprises  to 
his  care.  There  are  so  many  thrilling  stories  and  legends  of  Daniel 
Boone's  adventures  that  the  simplicity  of  the  man  has  been  quite  ob- 
scured. In  his  person  there  was  nothing  remarkably  striking.  Chester 
Harding,  who  painted  his  portrait  when  he  was  a  gaunt,  old  man,  de- 
scribed him  as  a  dreamy  person  busy  about  his  domestic  labors, 
shunning  publicity,  and  despising  the  traditional  headwear  of  coonskin 
cap  with  bushy  tail.  Asked  once  if  he  ever  got  lost,  he  hesitated  a 
moment;  "not  lost,  so  to  speak,"  he  said,  "but  sometimes  bewildered." 

Between  Boonesboro  and  Richmond  the  highway  passes  through  a 
productive  livestock  region.  Every  farm  has  its  herds  of  cattle  or  its 
flocks  of  sheep.  The  sheep  are  raised  for  their  especially  fine  soft  wool 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  infants'  clothing.  For  several  miles  the 
hills,  thick  with  trees,  look  down  upon  the  road  (R),  while  along  the 
other  side  of  US  227  are  long,  narrow  corn  bottoms,  paralleled  farther 
back  by  the  willows  and  sycamores  of  Otter  Creek,  and  by  low  hills 
beyond.  After  several  risings  and  descents  through  small  valleys,  the 
road  emerges  on  a  rolling  terrain  where  continuous  swells  and  dips 
ripple  back  to  the  low  horizon.  Pasture  fields  border  the  highway; 
cornfields  stand  in  the  background. 

RICHMOND,  39.1  m.  (926  alt.,  6,495  pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4). 


424  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 


Tour  18 


Junction    with    US    23 — Hindman — Somerset — Columbia — Glasgow — 
Junction  with  US  31W-68;  274.6  m.,  State  80. 

Hard-surfacing  throughout  being  completed  (1939). 
Limited  accommodations  except  in  larger  towns. 

This  route  passes  through  a  region  of  primitive  beauty  and  grandeur, 
where  stillness  fills  the  valleys  that  are  shadowed  on  all  sides  by  blue- 
green  mountains.  Some  of  the  patches  of  cultivated  land — mostly  corn- 
fields— He  on  steep  slopes  between  stands  of  virgin  timber  and  end  on 
the  rims  of  steep  cliffs;  others  huddle  along  the  streams  below. 

Far  back  from  the  main  roads  and  almost  hidden  in  the  coves  or  on 
mountain  sides  are  dilapidated  log  cabins,  which  usually  consist  of  a 
single  large  room  and  a  lean-to,  with  puncheon  floor,  a  heavy  plank 
door,  a  large  stone  chimney,  and  one  window  with  a  single  sash.  Often 
there  is  a  narrow  porch  in  front.  Built  long  ago  of  green  timber,  the 
average  cabin  has  shrunk  and  sagged  until  there  is  hardly  a  square  joint, 
a  perpendicular  face,  or  a  level  place  in  the  structure.  Puncheons  have 
warped,  leaving  wide  cracks  in  the  floor,  and  the  rived  shingles  have 
curled  and  been  patched  repeatedly.  The  limited  amount  of  clothing 
not  in  use  hangs  from  nails  and  pegs  on  the  walls  between  bunches  of 
dried  beans,  strings  of  peppers,  dried  apples,  and  gourds.  There  is 
usually  an  almanac  in  the  cabin,  but  no  clock,  for  "What  does  a  man 
want  with  a  clock  when  he  has  a  good  crowin'  rooster?"  A  kerosene 
lamp,  frequently  without  chimney,  or  a  twisted  rag  stuck  into  a  bottle 
of  hog  grease,  furnishes  illumination.  Tables  and  chairs  are  home- 
made, and  beds  are  few — regardless  of  the  number  of  people  in  the 
family.  In  the  yard  stands  an  ash  hopper  for  running  lye  to  make 
soap,  and  a  large  iron  kettle  for  boiling  clothes  and  soap,  for  scalding 
hogs,  as  well  as  for  a  variety  of  other  uses. 

The  woman  of  the  mountains  leads  a  difficult  life,  while  the  man  is 
lord  of  the  household.  Whether  he  works,  visits,  or  roams  through  the 
woods  with  dog  and  gun,  is  nobody's  business  but  his  own.  If  he  con- 
verts the  corn  that  his  family  laboriously  cultivated  on  the  steep  moun- 
tain side  into  whisky,  his  wife  never  thinks  of  asking  "the  law"  to 
force  him  to  keep  it  for  family  support.  A  spirit  of  personal  inde- 
pendence and  belief  in  his  rights  as  an  individual  are  distinctive  traits 
of  the  mountaineer.  He  is  entirely  unable  to  understand  any  inter- 
ference in  his  affairs  by  society;  if  he  turns  his  corn  into  "likker,"  he 
is  dealing  with  what  is  his.  In  spite  of  extreme  poverty  and  an  environ- 
ment beset  with  trying,  often  hazardous  conditions,  the  mountaineer 


TOUR    l8  425 

maintains  a  code  of  hospitality  characteristic  of  those  living  in  isolated 
regions. 

The  customs,  speech,  folk  songs,  child  rhymes,  and  superstitions  of 
the  mountaineer  recall  eighteenth-century  England  (see  Tours  1  and 
19).  The  frequent  occurrence  of  "King  George"  and  "King  Henry" 
in  many  of  the  play  songs,  the  mention  of  "Fair  Notanom  [Notting- 
ham] Town"  and  such  lines  as 

"There  was  a  rich  margent 
In  London  did  dwell  ..." 

are  instances  of  the  partial  preservation  of  the  rhymes  and  songs  of 
his  forefathers.  With  improved  methods  of  transportation,  however, 
and  the  establishment  of  modern  schools,  old  customs,  speech,  and 
habits  of  thought,  a  gradual  transformation  is  taking  place. 

Towns  and  streams,  however,  continue  to  bear  the  names  given  them 
by  the  pioneers,  including  Red  Fox,  Pumpkin  Center,  Troublesome 
Creek,  Deadman  Creek,  Cut-Shin  Creek,  Hell-Fer-Sartain,  and  Polecat 
Creek. 

State  80  branches  southwest  from  its  junction,  0  m.,  with  US  23 
(see  Tour  1)  9.3  miles  south  of  Prestonsburg. 

ALLEN,  0.5  m.  (638  alt.,  284  pop.),  is  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Levisa  Fork  at  the  gateway  to  Beaver  Valley,  the  most  populous  sec- 
tion of  Floyd  County  and  its  trade  and  industrial  center. 

Right  from  Allen  on  a  paved  road  to  the  BEAVER  VALLEY  GOLF  AND  COUNTRY 
CLUB  (open  to  public,  fee  50$),  0.3  m.,  the  center  of  social  life  of  the  better-to-do 
in  the  little  valley  towns. 

State  80  crosses  Beaver  Creek  on  a  steel  span  bridge  and  passes 
through  Beaver  Valley,  where  there  are  many  small  mining  camps.  The 
mountains  and  hills  of  the  region  are  underlain  with  veins  of  coal  rang- 
ing in  thickness  from  30  inches  to  6  feet  and  a  commercially  exploited 
supply  of  natural  gas.  One  of  the  first  flowing  oil  wells  in  eastern 
Kentucky  was  drilled  in  1892  on  Right  Fork  of  Beaver  Creek  at  the 
mouth  of  Salt  Lick  Creek.  This  began  production  of  the  Beaver  Creek 
Oil  Pool  which  has  been  in  continuous  operation  since  that  time.  At 
present  (1939)  there  are  between  600  and  700  producing  wells  in  the 
region. 

GARRETT,  17.7  m.  (1,000  alt.,  1,000  pop.),  is  incorporated  under 
the  same  charter,  with  the  same  set  of  public  officials  as  Wayland. 
Each  town  has  its  own  high  school  and  stores. 

LACKEY,  18.6  m.  (522  pop.),  is  a  small  mining  settlement. 

Left  from  Lackey  on  State  7  to  WAYLAND,  2  m.  (2,436  pop.),  a  mining  town 
whose  public  affairs  are  directed  jointly  with  those  of  Garrett. 

Between  Lackey  and  Hindman  the  route  passes  through  Trouble- 
some Creek  Valley,  a  region  immortalized  in  song  and  story. 


426  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

HINDMAN  MOUNTAIN  is  visible  (R)  for  miles  along  the  high- 
way. 

At  30  m.  is  the  junction  with  a  marked  road,  passable  in  dry  weather. 

Left  on  this  road,  which  follows  Terry  Fork  Creek,  to  CANEY  CREEK  JUNIOR 
COLLEGE  AND  COMMUNITY  CENTER  at  the  village  of  PIPPAPASS,  3.5  m.  The 
center,  which  is  supported  by  free-will  offerings,  was  founded  by  Mrs.  Alice  Lloyd 
in  1917,  and  consists  of  a  175-acre  farm  and  30  buildings.  Its  activities  include 
clubs,  a  Sunday  school,  and  health  clinics ;  a  lower-form  school  and  a  fully  accred- 
ited county  high  school  are  maintained  in  co-operation  with  Knott  County.  The 
junior  college  is  a  private  institution  under  the  management  of  the  center;  it  is 
coeducational  and  fully  accredited.  The  organization  makes  it  possible  for  the 
most  promising  students  to  attend  universities. 

HINDMAN,  34  m.  (1,032  alt.,  508  pop.),  seat  of  Knott  County, 
lies  in  a  narrow  valley  at  the  forks  of  Troublesome  Creek.  Its  main 
street,  with  a  school  at  one  end  and  a  church  at  the  other,  stretches 
along  the  stream.  Steep,  rugged  mountains  rise  precipitously  above  it. 
Hindman  consisted  of  three  houses,  a  store,  and  a  water-power  mill 
when  Knott  County,  with  a  scattered  population  of  2,000,  was  formed. 

One  of  the  most  notorious  feuds  (see  Tour  19)  of  the  Kentucky 
mountains  began  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  Hindman  as 
a  result  of  the  killing  of  Linvin  Higgins.  Dolph  Drawn,  a  deputy 
sheriff  of  Knott  County,  organized  a  posse  and  started  for  Letcher 
County  with  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  William  Wright  and  two  other 
men  accused  of  the  murder.  When  the  sheriff's  men  reached  Daniel's 
Hill  they  were  fired  on  by  the  Wright  band.  In  the  fight  that  followed 
several  men  were  wounded  and  the  sheriff's  horse  was  killed.  ("Devil 
John"  Wright,  leader  of  the  Wright  faction,  later  paid  for  the  animal 
because  he  "regretted  the  killing  of  a  fine  horse.")  After  the  first  en- 
counter Clabe  Jones  led  Drawn 's  party,  and  at  one  time  both  Jones 
and  Wright  not  only  had  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  the  other  but  had 
also  succeeded  in  persuading  the  Governor  to  offer  a  reward  for  each 
other's  capture.  Although  this  feud  lasted  several  years  and  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  death  of  more  than  150  men,  all  of  its  participants  who 
were  tried  in  court  were  cleared.  While  the  feud  lasted,  all  the  men 
who  took  part  in  it  had  a  glorious  time;  when  the  enemy  was  not  near 
at  hand  the  partisans  sat  about  cleaning  guns,  boasting  of  what  they 
were  going  to  do  at  the  next  encounter,  rehearsing  the  details  of  past 
battles,  and  planning  strategy  that  included  travel  by  night,  ambush, 
decoying  tactics,  and  raids.  Those  who  were  killed  were  buried  secretly 
to  keep  the  enemy  from  knowing  its  score. 

John  Wright,  who  played  such  a  prominent  part  in  the  war,  had 
accumulated  quite  a  fortune  in  the  lumber  business  and  is  described  as 
a  man  of  "splendid  mind  and  some  education."  He  built  a  brick  house 
that  was  one  of  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Letcher  County,  and  he  brought 
glass  from  Virginia  to  build  a  greenhouse  in  which  to  grow  the  flowers 
that  were  his  hobby.  John  Fox,  Jr.  (see  Tours  17A-19)  lived  in 
Wright's  home  while  gathering  material  for  his  stories. 


TOUR    l8  427 

HINDMAN  SETTLEMENT  SCHOOL  was  founded  in  1902  by  May  Stone 
of  Louisville  and  Katherine  Pettit  of  Lexington,  under  the  sponsorship 
of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union.  The  school  was  organ- 
ized to  supply  the  need  expressed  by  "Uncle  Sol"  Beveridge,  82  years 
of  age,  who  had  walked  20  miles  from  Hindman  to  Hazard  to  enlist  the 
interest  of  the  two  young  women  who  were  camping  there.  He  said: 
"When  I  was  a  little  chunk  of  a  shirt-tailed  lad,  a-hoeing  corn  on  the 
steep  hillside,  I'd  get  to  the  end  of  a  row  and  look  up  Troublesome 
Creek  and  wonder  if  anybody  would  ever  come  to  larn  the  young  'uns. 
Nobody  ever  come  in.  Nobody  ever  went  out.  We  jist  growed  up  and 
never  knowed  nothin'.  I  can't  read  nor  write;  many  of  my  chilluns 
can't  read  nor  write,  but  I  have  grands  and  greats  as  is  the  purtiest 
speakin'  and  the  easiest  larnin'  of  any  chilluns  in  the  world.  I  want  as 
they  should  have  a  chancet." 

The  school,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  State,  was  started  in  a  little 
house  and  a  near-by  cottage  on  four  acres  of  rented  ground;  today  the 
institution  owns  165  acres  of  land  and  18  buildings.  It  is  accredited  by 
the  Southern  Association  of  Secondary  Schools  and  Colleges  and  has  an 
average  enrollment  of  400.  The  curriculum  includes  preparation  for 
college,  as  well  as  industrial  training,  homemaking,  and  social  service. 
Extension  work — sewing  and  cooking  classes,  public  health  service, 
home  demonstration,  and  Sunday  school — is  carried  on  in  the  county. 
Through  the  Fireside  Industries,  a  phase  of  the  school's  work  that  has 
been  emphasized,  traditional  homecrafts  have  been  revived  and  today 
the  coverlets,  blankets,  and  other  products  of  the  loom,  made  by  the 
mountain  women,  are  on  sale.  The  returns  to  the  workers  for  this  hand- 
work are  very  low  because  of  the  competition  with  machine-made  goods, 
but  those  sponsoring  the  movement  say  that  the  work  does  at  least 
bring  in  some  cash  to  those  who  have  no  other  way  of  earning  it. 

On  the  school  grounds  is  the  "UNCLE  SOL"  BEVERIDGE  CABIN  (open), 
restored  to  honor  the  old  mountaineer  whose  vision  inspired  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  school.  The  cabin  is  furnished  as  it  was  when  "Uncle 
Sol"  lived  in  it,  with  spinning  wheel  and  dulcimer,  home-made  wooden 
furniture,  rifle  and  powder  horn,  home-made  coverlets  and  rugs,  and 
iron  cooking  utensils  around  the  open  fireplace. 

The  work  of  the  school  has  been  portrayed  in  the  stories  of  Lucy 
Furman,  a  teacher  here  for  many  years.  Her  best  known  works,  Quare 
Women  and  Hard-hearted  Barbara  Allen,  preserve  the  racy  idiom  and 
imaginative  language  of  the  mountaineer. 

DWARF,  47  m.  (900  alt.,  118  pop.),  is  the  site  of  the  old  TUNNEL 
MILL,  which  still  grinds  the  mountaineers'  corn.  Near  by  is  a  horse- 
shoe bend  of  the  creek,  where  two  early  settlers  tunneled  through  the 
mountain  in  order  to  obtain  increased  force  in  the  fall  of  the  water  for 
a  millrace.  After  nine  years  of  labor  they  completed  the  undertaking 
and  built  a  sawmill,  a  carding  mill,  and  a  gristmill.  Only  the  gristmill 
remains. 

Dwarf  is  at  the  junction  with  State  15  (see  Tour  2);  between  Dwarf 
and  a  junction  at  52.7  m.,  State  80  and  State  15  are  one  route. 


428  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

State  80  crosses  North  Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River  at  56  m. 

In  WOOTEN,  66.7  m.  (875  alt.,  1,763  pop.),  the  Presbyterian 
Church  supports  a  school  and  community  center.  A  "listening  center" 
for  classes  in  agriculture  is  maintained  here  by  the  University  of  Ken- 
tucky. The  school  is  also  reviving  and  preserving  old  songs,  dances, 
and  plays. 

HYDEN,  73.7  m.  (870  alt.,  1,471  pop.),  seat  of  Leslie  County, 
named  for  Preston  H.  Leslie,  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1871-75),  is  in 
the  valley  of  Middle  Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River.  Cottages  and  cabins 
are  scattered  over  the  hillside,  and  on  the  surrounding  hills  are  small 
growths  of  beech,  oak,  maple,  hemlock,  poplar,  ash,  and  walnut — all 
that  remains  of  the  great  forests  of  pre-lumbering  days.  The  first  white 
settlers,  John  Sizemore  and  his  wife,  Nancy  Bowling  Sizemore,  came 
to  the  valley  from  North  Carolina  in  1817.  The  growth  of  the  settle- 
ment was  very  slow;  Leslie  County  was  not  formed  until  1878.  No 
wagon  road  connected  Hyden  with  the  outside  world  until  1880;  be- 
fore that  "store  goods"  had  been  brought  by  canoe  up  the  Kentucky 
from  Clay's  Ferry  near  Lexington. 

In  1879  a  two-room  store  was  erected  here;  this  log  structure  is  un- 
changed though  it  is  now  a  dwelling. 

Within  the  court  square,  which  is  encircled  by  a  stone  wall,  is  the 
little-used  county  jail.  The  majority  of  cases  tried  here  today  are 
concerned  with  land-title  disputes.  Sentences  for  theft  and  robbery  are 
rare,  as  the  victim  frequently  kills  the  thief — an  act  for  which  he  is 
usually  acquitted  or  given  a  very  light  sentence.  Feuds  (see  Tour  19) 
were  formerly  responsible  for  many  shootings,  and  in  such  cases  the 
courts  were  powerless.  During  Prohibition,  when  there  was  a  demand 
from  the  outside  for  "moonshine"  and  "white  mule,"  nearly  all  criminal 
cases  resulted  from  the  illicit  sale  of  liquor.  Whisky  was  made  every- 
where, in  the  mountaineers'  homes,  in  deserted  log  cabins,  and  in  caves 
far  back  in  the  hills.  All  the  equipment  needed  to  produce  from  20  to 
60  gallons  a  day  was  a  vat  for  the  corn  mash,  a  boiler,  and  a  "worm" 
(a  coil  of  copper  pipe). 

In  1894  the  Reverend  D.  McDonald,  an  evangelist  and  educator  of 
New  York,  was  sent  to  Hyden  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  a  church  school,  which  was  dedicated  in  1896. 
The  influence  of  the  institution  has  been  widely  felt  in  this  remote 
region. 

A  weekly  Hyden  newspaper  called  Thousand  Sticks,  for  the  highest 
hill  in  the  vicinity,  is  the  only  publication  in  Leslie  County.  This  four- 
page  news  sheet  employs  the  local  dialect  and,  like  other  country  papers, 
concentrates  its  attention  on  the  interests  of  the  people  it  serves.  It 
dates  from  1898  and  has  subscribers  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States. 

The  FRONTIER  NURSING  SERVICE  HOSPITAL  (R)  is  a  two-story  stone 
building  with  18  beds,  a  babies'  ward,  a  dispensary,  an  operating  room, 
and  a  wing  for  those  suffering  from  infectious  diseases.  Built  in  1928, 
the  hospital  is  the  only  one  in  a  large  mountain  area. 


TOUR    l8  429 

The  Frontier  Nursing  Service,  of  which  Mary  Breckinridge  is  the 
founder  and  active  leader,  maintains  eight  nursing  centers  in  isolated, 
almost  inaccessible  areas,  co-operating  with  Federal  and  State  authori- 
ties and  with  various  health  foundations.  It  is  supported  largely  by 
voluntary  contributions.  Each  center  contains  a  clinic  and  living  quar- 
ters for  two  nurse-midwives.  These  uniformed  public  health  nurses 
travel  on  horseback,  attending  women  in  childbirth,  nursing  the  sick, 
and  giving  instructions  in  sanitation,  health,  and  hygiene.  Midwifery 
receives  primary  attention.  The  two  nurses  at  each  center  give  service 
to  an  area  of  about  80  square  miles;  each  carries  a  saddlebag,  one  side 
holding  equipment  for  general  nursing,  the  other  for  obstetrical  work. 
Before  this  service  was  established  the  maternal  and  infant  death  rates 
in  the  mountains  were  high.  Even  if  there  had  been  a  doctor  in  the 
area  the  women  would  not  have  called  him  because  of  a  tradition  that 
"borning"  was  the  job  of  a  woman — usually  a  grandmother  whose  quali- 
fication was  the  number  of  children  and  grandchildren  she  had 
"borned."  Before  the  service  was  founded  in  1925  charms  and  home 
remedies  were  the  only  medical  resource  of  the  10,000  people  in  a  700- 
square-mile  area  where  there  was  not  a  single  resident  physician.  When 
Miss  Breckinridge  determined  to  provide  better  obstetrical  service 
here  she  was  faced  with  the  fact  that  midwifery  has  only  partial  recog- 
nition in  the  United  States;  in  but  one  or  two  places,  notably  in 
Bellevue  Hospital  in  New  York  City,  is  it  possible  to  take  some  train- 
ing in  the  craft,  and  even  there  the  training  is  limited  to  the  care  of 
normal  cases.  For  this  reason  it  was  necessary  either  to  import  mid- 
wives  trained  in  Europe  or  to  send  American  nurses  abroad  for  train- 
ing. American  nurses  who  wish  to  join  the  frontier  staff  are  examined 
with  care  and  tested  in  Kentucky  for  endurance  and  adaptability  be- 
fore they  are  sent  abroad.  After  receiving  an  English  or  Scottish  license 
to  practice,  the  nurse  takes  public  health  training  in  the  United  States 
if  she  does  not  already  have  it.  While  great  emphasis  is  placed  on 
nursing  and  midwifery,  the  teaching  function  is  equally  important. 
She  must  teach  the  mountain  women  to  care  for  their  sick  between  her 
infrequent  visits. 

At  first  the  mountain  people  were  very  suspicious  of  the  "brought  on 
women"  and  continued  to  have  their  babies  "cotched  by  the  grannies." 
But  since  confidence  has  been  established,  the  infant  death  rate  has 
been  decreasing  and  there  has  not  been  a  single  death  during  childbirth 
among  the  clients. 

The  nurses  are  assisted  by  "couriers,"  lay  volunteers  who  come  from 
the  cities.  Clinics  are  held  at  each  center,  with  nurses,  a  doctor,  and 
a  dentist  in  attendance,  and  patients  are  urged  to  come  to  these  clinics 
to  save  the  time  of  the  staff.  The  usual  charge  for  prenatal  care  and 
delivery  is  $5,  but  since  the  mountaineers  are  permitted  to  pay  in  labor 
or  in  produce,  the  nurses  are  always  well  supplied  with  chickens,  eggs, 
and  vegetables,  the  horses  with  fodder,  and  the  cabins  are  furnished 
with  quilted  "kivvers"  and  splint-bottom  chairs. 


43O  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

1.  Left  from  Hyden  on  an  unimproved  road  to  WENDOVER  (open),  4  m.,  the  di- 
recting center  and  residence  of  Mary  Breckinridge.     The  modern  two-story  log 
house  with  stone  foundation  is  built  on  a  steep  slope  overlooking  Middle  Fork  of 
the  Kentucky  River.    In  the  garden  below  the  terrace  is  a  collection  of  wild  flowers 
from  the  mountains,  and  a  stream  from  the  spring  on  the  hill  above  the  house 
flows  through. 

2.  Right  from  Hyden  on  an  unmarked,  unimproved  road  that  follows  Middle 
Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River  to  DRY  HILL,  6  m.  (34  pop.),  where  the  Presby- 
terian Church  maintains  a  community  center. 

The  surrounding  region  is  watered  by  two  creeks,  CUT-SHIN  (R)  and  HELL- 
FER-SARTAIN  (L),  both  confluents  of  Middle  Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River  near 
Dry  Hill.  Tradition  is  that  when  an  early  pioneer  was  coming  through  here  with 
his  oxtrain  he  found  one  of  the  creeks  swollen  by  recent  rains  and  the  crossing 
difficult.  While  driving  his  oxen  over,  he  cut  his  shins  on  the  sharp  rocks;  hence 
the  name,  Cut-Shin.  The  following  day  he  came  to  the  other  stream,  more  rugged, 
more  swollen,  and  far  more  difficult  to  cross.  When  he  realized  his  predicament  he 
exclaimed,  "Well,  by  jeeminy,  this  is  hell-fer-sartain!"  and  the  name  has  clung  to 
this  usually  limpid  beautiful  mountain  brook. 

On  Devil's  Jump  Branch  of  Hell-Fer-Sartain  Creek  is  the  mountain  HOME  OF 
WILLIE  SANDLIN,  the  only  native  Kentuckian  to  receive  the  Congressional  Medal  of 
Honor  for  World  War  services.  Sandlin,  also  a  recipient  of  several  foreign  medals 
including  the  Croix  de  Guerre,  is  now  a  farmer. 

REDBIRD  CREEK,  89.8  m.,  offers  good  fishing.  The  high  ridges, 
with  steep  sides  above  the  narrow  valleys  through  which  the  route 
passes,  are  heavily  timbered  with  oak,  hickory,  maple,  beech,  and  other 
hardwoods. 

In  GARRARD,  102.8  m.  (43  pop.),  salt  was  made  at  a  lick  as  early 
as  1803.  A  few  of  the  old  salt  kettles  remain  at  the  site  of  the  salt 
works. 

At  103.1  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  21. 

Right  on  State  21  to  MANCHESTER,  2.3  m.  (860  alt.,  900  pop.),  seat  of  Clay 
County;  it  was  named  for  the  great  cotton-manufacturing  center  in  England. 
Built  on  a  hill  overlooking  Goose  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Ken- 
tucky River,  this  town  has  changed  little  from  generation  to  generation. 

Shortly  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  James  White  of  Abingdon,  Virginia,  pur- 
chased the  salt  spring  here  and  established  a  salt  works.  Prior  to  the  coming  of 
the  white  man,  the  place  had  evidently  been  known  to  the  Indians,  for  the  ground 
around  the  spring  was  littered  with  the  shards  of  their  clay  kettles.  Soon  settlers 
were  toiling  over  the  trails  from  their  log  cabins  to  carry  back  their  year's  supply 
of  salt.  About  1808,  when  the  demand  outgrew  the  supply,  wells  were  drilled. 
With  the  enlargement  and  multiplication  of  salt  works,  the  Goose  Creek  area  be- 
came an  important  center.  Pipes,  necessary  to  carry  the  brine  from  outlying  wells 
to  the  works,  were  made  of  the  trunks  of  small  trees,  bored  with  long  augers,  fitted 
end  to  end,  and  carefully  calked.  Cooperage  plants  were  established  in  the 
near-by  region,  and  the  salt  was  shipped  down  the  river  from  Manchester  to 
Clay's  Ferry  in  flatboats  having  a  capacity  of  500  to  700  barrels.  During  the  War 
between  the  States,  and  for  a  number  of  years  thereafter,  Virginia  and  Tennessee, 
as  well  as  Kentucky,  were  supplied  in  great  measure  by  the  Goose  Creek  works. 

On  State  21  is  BURNING  SPRINGS  8.3  m.  (225  pop.),  named  from  the  natural 
flow  of  gas  that  burned  with  a  steady  flame  for  many  years  after  its  discovery  in 
1798  and  was  regarded  by  the  pioneers  as  a  phenomenon  perhaps  connected  with 
the  devil.  The  flame  has  since  been  extinguished ;  the  gas  that  once  fed  it  is  piped 
to  Lexington.  The  development  of  this  large  field  began  in  1907,  when  the  century- 
old  salt  industry  of  the  area  was  abandoned. 


TOUR    l8  431 

Between  the  junction  with  State  21  and  London,  State  80  winds  be- 
tween forested  ridges,  purple  in  the  distance,  and  along  creeks  that 
meander  through  narrow,  green  valleys. 

LONDON,  124.8  m.  (1,209  alt.,  1,950  pop.)  (see  Tour  4),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  25  (see  Tour  4). 

BERNSTADT,  131.9  m.  (424  pop.),  was  the  largest  of  several  Swiss 
colonies  in  this  region.  In  1881  the  Bernstadt  Colonization  Company, 
one  of  whose  founders  was  Paul  Schenk,  son  of  a  President  of  Switzer- 
land, purchased  40,000  acres  of  land  in  Laurel  County  for  cultivation 
as  vineyards.  The  Swiss  group,  which  at  first  included  more  than  600 
persons,  has  declined  in  numbers;  only  about  a  dozen  families  of  Swiss 
descent  remain.  The  vineyards  have  been  largely  abandoned,  and 
cheese  making  has  become  the  leading  commercial  activity. 

ROCKCASTLE  RIVER  (good  fishing),  138.6  m.,  was  so  named  be- 
cause of  the  number  of  large  rocks  that  in  some  places  impede  its 
course. 

SOMERSET,  159.5  m.  (879  alt.,  5,506  pop.)  (see  Tour  3),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 

A  NATIONAL  CEMETERY  (R),  168.7  m.,  contains  graves  of  both  Con- 
federate and  Union  soldiers  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Logan's  Cross  Roads. 
A  stone  recounting  the  deeds  of  valorous  Southern  troops  marks  the 
spot  where  more  than  100  unidentified  Confederates  are  buried. 

At  171.2  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  235,  improved. 

Left  on  State  235  to  ZOLLICOFFER  MEMORIAL  PARK,  1  m.,  established  by 
the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  in  memory  of  Gen.  Felix  K.  Zollicoffer 
who  fell  at  the  Battle  of  Logan's  Cross  Roads,  January  19,  1862. 

In  the  late  fall  of  1861,  General  Felix  K.  Zollicoffer  was  ordered  to  establish  an 
entrenched  camp  on  the  Cumberland  River  at  Mill  Springs  in  order  to  block  off 
any  attempt  by  the  Federal  troops  to  turn  the  flank  of  the  Confederate  forces  in 
Kentucky  (see  Tour  20). 

General  George  B.  Crittenden,  who  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  force  at 
Mill  Springs,  ordered  General  Zollicoffer  to  advance  from  that  place  and  defeat  the 
small  Union  detachment  encamped  at  Logan's  Cross  Roads.  Unknown  to  the  Con- 
federates, reinforcements  had  reached  General  Thomas  which  increased  his  num- 
bers to  approximately  the  equal  of  theirs. 

The  Confederates  attacked  the  Federals  about  daylight  on  the  19th  of  January, 
1862.  The  fall  of  Zollicoffer  and  the  flanking  fire  of  the  Union  troops,  coupled 
with  a  bayonet  charge  by  a  Union  regiment,  caused  the  final  defeat  of  the  Con- 
federates, who  fled  in  disorder.  Thomas  followed  up  his  advantage  and  forced  the 
Southerners  to  abandon  their  fortifications  and  cross  the  Cumberland  in  retreat. 
This  battle  cleared  the  way  for  a  Union  advance  into  eastern  Tennessee,  and  ex- 
posed Johnston's  right  flank  at  Bowling  Green. 

During  the  battle  Union  Col.  Speed  S.  Fry  ordered  Zollicoffer's  body  removed 
to  the  rear  of  his  lines.  Because  of  the  poor  condition  of  General  Zollicoffer's  uni- 
form, his  body  was  reclothed  in  Colonel  Fry's  civilian  clothes.  The  body  was  then 
sent  in  a  wooden  coffin  to  Lebanon.  Thence  it  was  sent,  by  Colonel  Fry's  orders, 
to  Danville  where  the  body  was  transferred  to  a  metal  coffin  and  forwarded  to 
Nashville  where  it  now  rests. 

NANCY,  171.5  m.  (358  pop.),  is  chiefly  a  crossroads. 
RUSSELL  SPRINGS,  193.7  m.  (1,080  alt.,  500  pop.)  (see  Tour  5), 
is  at  the  junction  with  State  35  (see  Tour  5). 


432  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

COLUMBIA,  207.9  m.  (750  alt.,  1,195  pop.),  seat  of  Adair  County, 
is  built  about  the  old  court  square.  Dignified  old  buildings,  which  have 
been  modernized,  are  indicative  of  the  town's  early  prosperity. 

The  HURT  HOUSE,  a  two-story  brick  structure  with  a  gabled  roof 
and  an  ell,  was  the  home  of  William  Hurt,  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  who  came  to  Kentucky  in  1793.  He  cleared  a  farm,  the 
first  in  this  region,  and  built  his  cabin,  unprotected  by  blockhouse  or 
stockade.  Hurt  was  the  first  slaveowner  in  this  region  and  the  first 
possessor  of  a  cart  and  a  yoke  of  draft  oxen.  In  1863,  when  the  house 
was  occupied  by  Timoleon  Cravens,  a  Captain  Carter  and  two  soldiers 
were  killed  on  the  Hurt  House  lawn  during  a  skirmish  while  serving 
with  a  detachment  of  Gen.  John  H.  Morgan's  Confederate  Cavalry. 

The  LINDSEY  WILSON  JUNIOR  COLLEGE  offers  premedical,  normal, 
and  theological  courses.  It  has  five  modern  school  buildings,  homes  for 
faculty  members,  and  a  library  of  approximately  6,000  volumes — the 
only  public  library  in  the  county.  Founded  by  Miss  Eliza  Forte,  the 
school  is  operated  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

The  annual  Adair  County  Fair,  held  at  Columbia  late  in  August, 
sponsors  agricultural  exhibits,  field  sports,  and  horse  racing. 

In  April  1862,  bandits  robbed  the  bank  here.  They  killed  the 
cashier  and  escaped  with  a  few  hundred  dollars  while  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  band  held  the  populace  at  bay  by  firing  from  the  town 
square.  Legend  has  it  that  this  was  the  Jesse  James  gang,  but  James 
was  only  15  years  old  at  the  time. 

Right  from  Columbia  on  State  61,  a  paved  road,  to  GREENSBURG,  19.4  m. 
(583  alt.,  770  pop.),  seat  of  Green  County,  named  for  Gen.  Nathanael  Greene,  a 
general  of  the  Revolutionary  Army.  Greensburg  is  on  the  site  of  Glovers  Station, 
established  about  1777.  On  the  public  square  stands  the  GREEN  COUNTY  COURT- 
HOUSE, built  in  1799,  the  only  one  of  its  kind  remaining  in  the  State.  The  builder 
was  Thomas  Metcalfe,  tenth  Governor  of  Kentucky  (1828-32),  known  as  "Old 
Stonehammer,"  because  of  his  trade  and  his  great  vigor  as  a  public  speaker.  The 
two-story  building,  constructed  of  random-width  limestone,  looks  like  a  two-story 
dwelling.  Housed  on  the  second  floor  of  the  courthouse  is  the  JANE  TODD  CRAW- 
FORD LIBRARY,  named  in  honor  of  the  pioneer  woman  who  traveled  60  miles  on 
horseback  through  the  wilderness  to  be  operated  on  without  anesthetics  (see  Tour 
5).  Facing  the  courthouse  is  the  old  BANK  OF  GREENSBURG,  built  in  1800  of  hand- 
dressed  limestone  with  walls  three  feet  thick.  This  structure  has  long  been  used  as 
a  private  home;  its  vault  of  hand-wrought  iron  sheets  is  a  repository  for  family 
heirlooms.  Gen.  James  Allen,  the  first  lawyer  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Greensburg, 
and  a  veteran  of  the  War  of  1812,  became  president  of  the  bank  after  the  war. 
Finding  its  finances  in  a  critical  state,  he  liquidated  its  assets,  paid  off  every  de- 
positor and  closed  the  bank.  Allen  then  made  the  building  his  home. 

Between  Columbia  and  Edmonton  the  route  leads  through  a  rugged 
region  with  ranges  of  low  hills  in  the  distance. 

In  BLISS,  212.4  m.  (30  pop.),  along  Lampton  Lane,  once  stood  the 
home  of  Benjamin  Lampton.  Col.  William  Casey,  who  settled  in  this 
region  in  1791,  had  a  daughter,  Peggy,  who  became  the  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin Lampton.  Their  daughter,  Jane,  married  John  Marshall 
Clemens,  with  whom  she  moved  to  Tennessee  and  afterward  to  Mis- 


TOUR   1 8  433 

souri,  where  their  fourth  child,  Samuel  L.  Clemens  (Mark  Twain), 
was  born. 

EDMONTON,  231.2  m.  (800  alt.,  237  pop.),  overlooking  the  Little 
Barren  River,  is  an  unincorporated  community,  but  is  the  seat  of  Met- 
calfe  County.  The  town  is  named  for  Edmond  Rogers,  a  soldier  of 
Virginia,  who  came  to  Kentucky  after  the  Revolutionary  War.  He 
acquired  20,000  acres  of  land  and  a  large  number  of  slaves,  and  laid  out 
a  town  here. 

The  TRIGG  FISH  HATCHERY  (L),  246.8  m.,  is  the  only  spring-fed 
hatchery  operated  by  the  State. 

GLASGOW,  249.9  m.  (780  alt.,  5,042  pop.)  (see  Tour  6),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  31E  (see  Tour  6)  and  State  90  (see  Tour  20). 

Between  Glasgow  and  Merry  Oaks  the  route  continues  through  an 
oil  field  that  has  not  been  fully  developed. 

MERRY  OAKS,  261.3  m.  (67  pop.),  is  the  locale  of  Cordia  Greer 
Petrie's  Angeline,  stories  of  the  rural  Kentuckian's  reaction  to  the  city 
life  of  Louisville. 

A  quarry  (R)  at  265.5  m.  produces  Bowling  Green  oolitic  limestone. 

At  274.6  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  68  (see  Tour  15)  and  US  31W 
(see  Tour  7)  6.7  miles  east  of  Bowling  Green. 


Tour  19 


(Williamson,  W.  Va.)— Pikeville— Jenkins— Junction  with  US   25E; 

US  119. 

West  Virginia  Line  to  Junction  with  US  25E,  165.9  m. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  throughout. 

Louisville  &  Nashville  R.R.  roughly  parallels  route  between  Lynch  and  Pineville. 

Accommodations  chiefly  in  towns. 

US  119  crosses  a  rugged  and  long-isolated  region  twisting  around 
high  mountain  shoulders,  where  each  turn  of  the  road  reveals  range  after 
range  of  dark  green  wooded  slopes,  beautiful  in  the  spring  with  the 
snowy  white,  pink,  and  deep  red  of  the  rhododendron  and  wild  azalea, 
and  where  the  narrow,  winding  valleys  echo  with  the  sound  of  the 
waterfalls  and  rapids  in  the  clear  streams.  At  intervals  along  the  high- 
way are  lonely  little  log  cabins  perched  on  ridges  or  half -hidden  in  the 
coves;  patches  of  cornfields  on  the  steep  hillsides;  and  the  unsightly 
shacks  of  small  mining  settlements.  The  northern  part  of  the  route 
traverses  the  valley  of  the  Big  Sandy  and  its  forks,  the  Levisa  and  the 
Tug,  a  favorite  hunting  ground  of  the  Shawnee,  the  Cherokee,  and 


434  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

other  Indians.  This  valley  was  the  last  section  of  Kentucky  to  be 
wrested  from  them  by  white  settlers. 

The  history  of  the  area  on  both  sides  of  the  Kentucky- West  Virginia 
Line  is  violent.  It  was  the  scene  of  the  notorious  Hatfield-McCoy  feud 
that  began  on  an  election  day  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Stories 
of  the  origin  are  obscure.  One  is  that  while  "Devil  Anse"  Hatfield  and 
his  clan  from  across  the  Tug  Fork  in  West  Virginia  were  carousing  with 
the  McCoys  on  the  Kentucky  side,  Hatfield's  son  eloped  across  the 
river  with  Randall  McCoy's  daughter.  When  a  few  months  later 
McCoy's  unwed  daughter  returned  to  her  Kentucky  relatives  with  a 
child,  a  war  of  hatred  and  revenge  began.  The  feud  outlived  all  of 
those  who  saw  its  beginning,  and  though  there  were  peaceful  inter- 
ludes, a  trivial  argument  over  such  a  matter  as  the  number  of  notches 
on  a  hog's  ear  would  start  another  series  of  killings.  On  one  occasion 
an  old  man  of  the  Hatfield  clan  stood  alone  against  the  McCoy  tribe, 
and  when  he  died  cursing  his  enemies  with  his  last  breath,  his  gun  was 
empty,  his  body  riddled  with  bullets.  Later,  after  three  McCoys  had 
stabbed  a  Hatfield  in  the  back,  a  party  of  Hatfields  surrounded  Randall 
McCoy's  cabin  and  set  it  on  fire  in  order  to  see  their  targets — the 
McCoys  trapped  inside.  On  that  night  a  Hatfield  shot  a  young 
McCoy  girl  to  death  and  then  broke  her  mother's  back.  It  was  a  great 
day  for  the  McCoys  when  this  Hatfield  was  hanged,  many  years  later, 
before  6,000  spectators.  He  was  the  first  and  one  of  the  few  feudists 
hanged  legally. 

The  courts  were  particularly  ineffective  in  handling  this  feud  because 
the  participants  lived  in  two  States  and  the  State  authorities  on  both 
sides  of  the  line  were  disinclined  to  permit  extradition  of  their  citizens, 
since  each  side  laid  blame  on  the  other.  Moreover,  many  of  the 
sheriffs  and  even  judges  were  kin  to  participants.  About  the  time  of 
the  War  between  the  States,  when  coal  mining  began  in  the  region  on  a 
minor  commercial  scale,  the  operators  found  themselves  much  hindered 
by  the  primitive  tribal  warfare  and  put  pressure  on  authorities  to  curb 
it.  They  had  a  reward  offered  for  the  capture  of  Devil  Anse  and  forced 
him  into  semi-hiding  in  the  hills — then  bought  up  his  land  for  a  dollar 
an  acre.  Other  Hatfields  and  some  of  the  McCoys  became  mine  oper- 
ators themselves,  though  many  of  their  kin  eventually  came  down  to 
work  in  the  mines.  But  the  hill  people  were  only  half  tamed  and  the 
frontier  habit  of  every  man's  settling  his  quarrels  with  his  own  gun  was 
not  easily  eradicated.  It  was  carried  over  into  the  period  of  industrial 
development. 

In  Harlan  County  big  scale  mining  began  about  1911,  after  the  dis- 
covery of  thick  seams  of  bituminous.  Northern  corporations  invested 
heavily  here  and  a  railroad  was  built.  The  real  boom  came  with  the 
World  War.  The  demand  for  fuel  by  the  steel  mills  and  other  plants 
manufacturing  munitions  drove  coal  prices  high  enough  to  make  opera- 
tion highly  profitable  even  in  this  field,  which  had  to  ship  in  competition 
with  northern  fields  having  much  more  favorable  freight  rates.  Compe- 


TOUR   19  435 

tition  for  labor  raised  the  wages  of  miners  to  abnormal  heights.  Men 
flocked  down  from  the  hills,  where  many  of  them  had  never  seen  $100 
in  cash  in  the  course  of  a  year,  to  earn  much  more  than  $100  in  the 
course  of  a  month.  The  companies  hastily  built  shacks  and  barracks  to 
house  them  and  opened  stores  to  get  their  trade.  The  new  industrial 
workers  were  a  bit  like  sailors  on  shore  leave;  cash  for  something  to 
spend  and  there  seemed  no  limit  to  the  flow.  Many,  unaccustomed  to 
paying  rent  and  buying  foodstuffs,  spent  the  whole  of  their  wages  the 
day  they  received  them  and  had  to  go  in  debt  to  provide  themselves 
with  room  and  board  until  the  next  pay  day.  In  no  time  their  igno- 
rance of  money-values  had  put  them  into  the  hands  of  those  willing  to 
profit  by  it. 

The  end  of  the  boom  came  when  the  war  was  over  and  the  demand 
for  huge  quantities  of  coal  fell  off.  The  first  to  suffer  in  the  deflation 
of  production  and  prices  toward  peacetime  levels  was  the  miner.  Men 
were  laid  off  and  wages  cut.  The  uprooted  hill  people  either  had  no 
land  to  return  to  or  could  not  face  return  to  the  isolated  cabins;  miners 
who  had  poured  in  from  other  fields  found  no  other  fields  that  wanted 
their  labor.  Bitterness  flared  in  every  coal  district.  The  absentee 
owners  who  demanded  profits  were  often  represented  locally  by  natives 
of  the  district  or  by  the  kind  of  men  who  always  flock  to  boom  towns, 
and  the  old  feud!  spirit  flared  up  with  a  bitterness  equal  to  that  of  the 
most  spirited  days  of  the  Hatfield-McCoy  war.  Strikebreakers  were 
sent  in  from  outside  to  guard  closed  mines  or  to  keep  mines  open  during 
strikes,  and  people  on  both  sides  of  the  struggle  used  guns,  as  they  had 
long  been  accustomed  to  do  in  times  of  stress. 

Well-meant  attempts  to  mediate  by  "furriners"  were  notably  unsuc- 
cessful, in  part,  because  of  unfamiliarity  with  the  local  people  and  cus- 
toms, and  in  larger  part  because  of  the  complicated  economic  problems 
involved.  The  post-war  flare-up  gradually  became  less  violent,  though 
the  struggle  continued;  the  economic  collapse  that  came  on  after  1929 
brought  it  to  white  heat  again.  In  1938  a  Congressional  Committee 
studying  violations  of  civil  liberties  brought  hill-people  from  the  area 
to  Washington  for  testimony  and  focused  national  attention  on  the 
labor-industrial  warfare  (see  Labor). 

Small  coal  diggings  with  their  gaping  black  entrances  and  makeshift 
tipples  are  frequently  seen  along  the  roads  of  this  mining  region.  For 
the  most  part  they  are  worked  by  one  or  two  part-time  miners  who  gain 
a  meager  livelihood  by  selling  the  coal  in  the  vicinity  or  by  hauling  it 
to  near-by  markets. 

US  119  crosses  the  West  Virginia  Line,  0  m.y  at  Williamson,  West 
Virginia  (see  West  Virginia,  Tour  11),  on  a  bridge  over  the  Tug  Fork 
of  the  Big  Sandy  River,  and  follows  Pond  Creek  through  a  drab  coal- 
mining area.  At  this  point  the  road  is  an  artery  of  the  area  once  known 
as  "the  billion  dollar  coal  field"  of  which  Williamson  is  the  heart. 

BELFRY,  3.6  m.  (668  alt.,  410  pop.),  one  of  the  coal-mining  com- 
munities that  are  strung  out  along  Pond  Creek  for  approximately  15 


436  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

miles,  is  typical  of  the  numerous  half-abandoned  mining  towns  of  the 
area.  They  are  unincorporated  and,  with  their  unpaved  streets  and  un- 
painted  buildings,  come  into  view  like  blighted  spots  on  the  land.  They 
have  all  the  inconveniences  and  few,  if  any,  of  the  ^comforts  of  modern 
towns  of  equal  size,  and  none  of  the  advantages  of  the  agricultural  coun- 
tryside. Small  drab  houses,  most  of  them  in  need  of  repair,  huddle 
close  together  along  the  deep  valleys  or  stand  uncertainly  on  the  moun- 
tain sides.  Most  of  them  are  of  boom-time  flimsiness,  with  one  thick- 
ness of  board  in  the  walls  that  rest  on  slender,  often  tottering,  posts, 
many  are  papered  with  newspapers  and  patched  with  cardboard  to  shut 
out  draughts.  Dark  hills  of  coal  tailings  blotch  the  sides  and  bases  of 
the  larger  hills.  The  numerous  abandoned  mines  are  marked  by 
warped  and  disjointed  frame  tipples  and  entrances,  weathered  to  a  dull 
gray.  Only  the  waters  of  Pond  Creek,  now  littered  with  tin  cans  and 
other  refuse,  suggest  the  natural  beauty  that  was  destroyed  by  indus- 
trial development  when  it  penetrated  the  formerly  inaccessible  places. 

Since  the  middle  1920's  the  miners  of  the  Pond  Creek  region,  when 
not  totally  unemployed,  have  worked  only  part  time.  Some  of  the 
towns  are  slowly  reviving  on  a  new  pattern.  Mining,  of  necessity,  is  no 
longer  the  sole  occupation.  Odd  jobs  in  lumbering,  agriculture,  road 
building,  Government  projects  and  construction,  supplement  the  em- 
ployment, mostly  seasonal,  that  is  still  afforded  by  the  mines.  The 
groups  of  men  clustered  around  a  store  or  the  local  "joint"  are  part  of 
the  army  of  former  miners.  Life  in  the  coal-mining  towns  is  meager 
and  hard.  The  customary  diet  of  the  miner  and  his  family  consists 
chiefly  of  beans — and  more  beans — corn  bread  made  without  milk,  and 
"bulldog  gravy,"  a  mixture  of  flour,  water,  and  a  little  grease.  In  the 
summer  those  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  small  patch  may  grow  a  few 
vegetables,  but  for  the  most  part  they  grow  pumpkins.  There  is  little 
or  no  milk  available  even  for  the  children.  As  a  result  diseases  of  mal- 
nutrition are  common.  Leisure  is  abundant  and  money  scarce.  Brawls 
and  an  occasional  shooting,  a  bit  of  penny-  and  nickel -gambling,  all  of 
them  usually  enlivened  with  moonshine,  are  the  recreation  of  the  men. 

US  119  at  7  m.  begins  its  ascent  from  the  valley  into  the  mountains 
whose  forested  slopes  and  ridges  constantly  change  in  appearance. 
They  are  gray-green  on  a  misty  morning,  a  vivid  green  on  a  clear  after- 
noon. The  tender  fernlike  foliage  of  early  spring,  when  each  leaf,  bud, 
and  shoot  is  a  delicate  green,  changes  into  the  heavier,  deeper-hued 
vegetation  of  summer.  In  the  fall,  the  sun,  which  shines  in  many  val- 
leys for  only  a  few  hours,  splashes  the  tree-clad  mountains  with  light, 
intensifying  the  yellows,  reds,  oranges,  browns,  and  dark  greens. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  views  on  US  119  between  Williamson, 
West  Virginia,  and  Pikeville  is  at  17.2  m.  From  the  top  of  the  ridge 
the  surrounding  maze  of  ranges,  deeply  cut  by  narrow  valleys  and  ex- 
tending to  the  horizon,  form  a  scene  of  wild,  rugged  beauty. 

PIKEVILLE,  32.2  m.  (680  alt.,  3,376  pop.)  (see  Tour  1),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  23  (see  Tour  1) ;  between  this  point  and  Jenkins,  US 
119  and  US  23  are  united. 


TOUR  19  437 

SHELBIANA,  39.2  m.  (698  alt.,  200  pop.),  is  a  mountain  hamlet  at 
the  junction  with  State  80. 

Left  from  Shelbiana  on  State  80,  an  improved  road,  to  ELKHORN  CITY, 
16.6  m.  (790  alt.,  995  pop.),  a  small  coal-mining  town,  rambling  along  a  bend  of 
Russell  Fork  at  the  mouth  of  Elkhorn  Creek.  Here  is  the  PIKE  COUNTY  FISH  AND 
GAME  ASSOCIATION  FISH  HATCHERY. 

South  of  Elkhorn  City,  State  80,  here  an  unimproved,  narrow  dirt  road,  con- 
tinues through  a  primitive  region  of  rugged  grandeur.  This  dirt  track  leading  to 
the  plateau  overlooking  the  Breaks  of  Sandy,  leads  through  virgin  stands  of  timber. 
Fragrant  slender  pines  rise  above  the  leafy  undergrowth.  Stone  outcroppings, 
weathered  smooth,  are  covered  with  moss  and  vine,  and  edged  with  mountain  fern. 
The  ground  is  soft  and  damp  beneath  the  many  layers  of  decayed  vegetation. 

One  of  the  most  picturesque  views  of  the  BREAKS  OF  THE  SANDY  is  at 
24.6  m.  A  thousand  feet  and  more  below,  in  the  most  striking  water  gap  of  the 
Big  Sandy  Valley,  flows  Russell  Fork  which  begins  as  a  thin  mountain  stream  in 
Virginia  and  flows  into  the  Big  Sandy  in  Kentucky.  The  river  has  worn  a  deep 
gorge  through  an  uplift  dating  from  the  Paleozoic  era.  In  this  great  upheaval 
other  streams  that  once  crossed  the  land  here  in  an  east-west  direction  were 
thrown  back  upon  themselves  or  else  were  diverted  to  form  Elkhorn  Creek  and 
Pound  River.  In  a  succession  of  waterfalls  and  rapids — called  "jumps"  by  the  na- 
tives— the  river  plunges  over  and  around  boulders  that  fill  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
and  descends  about  350  feet  in  traversing  the  tortuous  five  miles  of  the  Breaks. 
Rising  on  each  side  of  the  turbulent  stream  are  palisades  bedecked  with  rhodo- 
dendron, evergreens,  and  hardwood.  In  the  lower  reaches  the  gorge  is  shallower 
and  the  banks  of  the  stream  below,  where  there  are  numerous  campsites,  can  be 
reached  from  the  highway. 

Two  miles  southeast  of  the  Kentucky  Line  in  Virginia  is  a  great  castellated  sand- 
stone formation,  the  TOWERS,  which  rise  almost  1,600  feet,  and  guard  the  exit 
from  the  Breaks.  These  pinnacles,  when  seen  sharply  outlined  against  a  deep  blue 
sky  and  forested  ridges,  are  among  the  striking  features  of  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains. 

Shawnee  legend  describes  an  immense  cave  in  the  base  of  Pine  Mountain  near 
the  Breaks  of  Sandy  used  by  the  Shawnee,  during  a  great  battle  with  the  Cherokee, 
for  the  protection  of  the  women  and  children.  This  mythical  cave  also  appears  in 
the  stories  of  Swift's  fabulous  silver  mines  (see  Tour  1)  as  a  cache  holding  the 
silver  and  gold. 

Between  Shelbiana  and  Jenkins  US  119  winds  through  the  valley, 
passing  a  few  ragged  mining  settlements,  almost  lost  among  the  moun- 
tains. 

JENKINS,  71.6  m.  (1,527  alt.,  8,465  pop.),  a  collection  of  modern 
buildings  and  unsightly  shacks,  is  surrounded  by  impressive  mountains 
whose  vast  coal  deposits  make  the  town  one  of  the  State's  principal 
mining  centers.  In  contrast  with  the  settlement  farther  north,  this 
company  town,  strung  out  along  the  highway,  gives  an  impression  of  ac- 
tivity. Modern  buildings  and  facilities  give  evidence  of  some  stability, 
though  the  box-like  houses,  the  grim  piles  of  coal  tailings,  and  the  de- 
nuded slopes  clearly  indicate  its  dependence  on  coal.  On  the  southern 
outskirts  is  (R)  an  artificial  lake  in  a  dammed  basin  on  the  gentle  slope 
of  the  mountain.  The  lake  occupies  part  of  the  tract  once  owned  by 
"Devil  John"  Wright,  mountain  feudist  (see  Tour  18). 

Jenkins  is  at  the  junction  with  US  23  (see  Tour  1). 

Southwest  of  Jenkins  the  highway  passes  through  valleys  and  ascends 


438  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

uplifts  of  the  Cumberland  plateau,  a  region  of  much  beauty,  and  the 
most  intensively  exploited  coal  area  in  the  State.  Coal  towns  and 
camps  are  numerous. 

BOONE  CREEK  (R),  77.9  m.,  and  BOONE  HILL  (R),  near  the 
headwaters  of  the  Kentucky  River,  are  reminders  of  Daniel  Boone,  who 
with  several  companions  hunted  in  this  county.  John  Fox,  Jr.  (see 
Tour  17 A ),  made  the  region  pierced  by  US  119  the  locale  of  two  of  his 
best-known  stories,  The  Little  Shepherd  of  Kingdom  Come,  and  A 
Knight  of  the  Cumberland*. 

Many  old  customs  and  folk  superstitions  have  survived  with  great 
tenacity  (see  Tours  1  and  18)  in  these  mountain  fastnesses.  Many 
peculiarities  of  speech,  song,  custom,  and  belief  are  a  heritage  from 
English  and  Scottish-Irish  ancestors.  A  couple  contemplating  marriage 
is  "called  out  in  meetin'  "  at  least  once  prior  to  the  marriage  ceremony. 
So  steadfast  is  the  belief  that  a  bride  must  start  her  new  life  in  a  new 
pair  of  shoes,  that  if  the  family  is  unable  to  buy  a  pair  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  neighborhood  concern,  and  the  ceremony  must  wait  until  the 
bride  can  be  newly  shod. 

Slat  sunbonnets,  of  calico  or  any  bright-colored  material,  are  the 
usual  headgear  of  the  hill  women;  for  after  marriage  a  woman,  how- 
ever young,  is  expected  to  don  "decent  duds,"  discarding  bows,  beads, 
and  earbobs.  Dark  colors  are  substituted  for  the  vivid  pinks,  blues, 
reds,  and  lilacs  proper  for  girls. 

If  horses  and  mules  are  restless  at  night,  if  they  prance  and  snort, 
everyone  is  sure  that  evil  spirits  are  trying  to  mount  them;  many  per- 
sons braid  corn  husks  into  the  manes  to  ward  off  this  evil. 

The  "Elf  Knight,"  a  version  of  the  old  English  ballad,  the  "Six 
Kings'  Daughters,"  "Barbara  Allen,"  the  "Little  Mohee,"  and  "Madge 
Wildfire's  Song"  are  often  heard  in  this  country. 

US  119  crosses  the  North  Fork  of  the  Kentucky  River,  80.7  m.,  which 
twists  and  cuts  its  way  through  several  hundred  miles  before  joining  the 
Ohio. 

At  88.4  m.  is  the  junction  with  State  IS  (see  Tour  2). 

PINE  MOUNTAIN  looms  in  the  distance  at  90.1  m.  Over  a  part 
of  the  timbered,  craggy  ridge  extends  the  Trail  of  the  Lonesome  Pine. 
The  northern  flank  of  the  mountain,  blanketed  with  dense  stands  of 
timber,  hems  in  the  country  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see.  The  road,  be- 
ginning its  winding  ascent  of  the  mountain,  follows  a  shelf  below  high 
overhangs  of  limestone.  During  the  climb  small  mountain  cabins  are 
seen  clinging  to  the  sloping  side  far  below,  looking  like  doll  houses  in 
the  distance. 

At  93.7  m.  is  the  summit  of  Pine  Mountain  (2,600  alt.).  Here  is  a 
junction  with  a  dirt  road. 

Left  on  this  road  3  m.  to  a  FIRE  OBSERVATORY  (open)  on  one  of  the  highest 
points  in  the  region.  It  affords  a  magnificent  view  of  the  Appalachians.  The  dis- 
tant blue-veiled  horizon  to  the  east  is  formed  by  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  of 
Virginia. 


TOUR   19  439 

Southwest  of  the  crest  of  Pine  Mountain,  US  119  passes  down  the 
great  corridor  formed  by  Pine  (R)  and  Black  Mountains  (L).  For  75 
miles  the  highway  parallels  the  Cumberland  River. 

The  origin  of  the  settlers  in  this  region  is  unmistakable.  Their 
"ballets"  (ballads)  are  relics  inherited  from  their  English  and  Scottish 
forebears,  though  time  and  place  have  resulted  in  local  variations. 
"Sweet  William  and  Lady  Margery,"  "Sourwood  Mountain"  (named 
for  the  sourwood  tree  which  grows  in  profusion  on  the  mountains),  the 
"Merry  Golden  Tree,"  "Hangman's  Song,"  and  "Lovin'  Nancy"  are 
popular  favorites,  most  of  them  very  old.  A  few  modern  ballads  on 
mining  themes,  chiefly  tragedies,  were  brought  in  by  Pennsylvania 
miners,  among  them  "Western  Union  Telegram"  and  "Down  in  a  Coal 
Mine."  Speech  here  is  vivid  and  fresh.  When  all  goes  well  a  man  is 
"happy  as  a  'possum  up  a  'simmon  tree  with  a  dog  a  mile  off."  After 
a  really  close  call  he  will  say,  "If  hell  were  biled  down  to  a  pint,  it 
wouldn't  be  ez  hot  ez  the  place  I  war  in."  "Black  as  a  wolf's  mouth," 
"sweet-smellin'  ez  a  plum-granite,"  "fine  as  fur  in  the  North,"  are  pio- 
neer relics.  "Don't  fault  your  elders,"  "Wagon  the  deceased  to  the 
graveyard,"  and  "She  feathered  him  too  much"  are  reminders  of  the 
basic  English  of  the  first  American  settlers  from  Britain.  The  people 
live  in  a  "house-room,"  are  patients  of  a  "doctor-man,"  and  a  "tooth- 
dentist,"  hunt  with  a  "rifle-gun,"  and  go  to  a  "jail-house." 

CUMBERLAND,  112.2  m.  (1,430  alt.,  2,639  pop.),  is  a  mining  town 
whose  civic  and  industrial  activities  have  been  stimulated  by  the  build- 
ing of  the  highway. 

Left  from  Cumberland  on  State  160,  hard  surfaced,  to  LYNCH,  4.5  m.  (1,712 
alt.,  7,000  pop.),  a  mining  center  at  the  headwaters  of  Looney  Creek.  Out  of 
what  was  little  more  than  a  wilderness  in  1917,  Lynch  has  been  developed  by  the 
United  States  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  whose  42,000  acres  of  coal  land  contain  four 
known  workable  seams.  The  tipple  (cradledump)  here  is  unusually  large.  The 
Greeks,  Italians,  and  Syrians,  who  form  the  majority  of  the  small  foreign  popula- 
tion, have  retained  many  national  customs  that  give  color  to  local  entertainments. 

The  worst  labor  disturbance  here  occurred  in  ^1934,  when  700  employees  were 
discharged  and  several  hundred  sympathizers  quit.  Some  of  the  men  eventually 
returned  to  the  mines  without  working  agreements;  others,  who  refused  to  do  this, 
were  driven  out  of  the  mining  camps. 

On  State  160  at  8  m.,  BIG  BLACK  MOUNTAIN  (4,150  alt.),  the  highest  peak 
in  Kentucky,  is  seen  (R).  Its  tree-crowned  crest  is  visible  for  miles. 

At  9  m.  State  160  crosses  the  Virginia  Line,  becoming  VA.  67,  which  leads  into 
US  23. 

DILLON,  122  m.  (1,248  alt.,  21  pop.),  is  chiefly  a  crossroads. 

Right  from  Dillon  2  m.  on  a  dirt  road  to  the  entrance  of  KENTENIA  STATE 
FOREST  of  3,624  acres  on  the  slope  of  Pine  Mountain.  This,  the  only  State 
forest  in  Kentucky,  is  used  for  a  forest  nursery  and  is  being  developed  for  recrea- 
tional purposes. 

A  steel  OBSERVATION  TOWER,  4.2  m.,  100  feet  in  height,  affords  an  exceptional 
view  of  Pine  Mountain. 

PINE  MOUNTAIN  SETTLEMENT  SCHOOL,  8  m.  (1,756  alt.),  was  founded  in  1913 
through  the  generosity  of  William  Creech — "Uncle  William"  as  he  was  affection- 
ately known  in  the  neighborhood.  The  school  provides  education  for  boys  and 


440  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

girls  of  remote  mountain  covers,  part  of  which  they  pay  for  by  working  in  the 
kitchen,  the  laundry,  the  garden,  or  on  the  farm.  Sixteen  buildings,  from  one- 
quarter  mile  to  two  miles  apart,  house  the  students.  Academic  work  is  carried 
through  the  eighth  grade  and  a  course  is  offered  for  prospective  teachers.  Exten- 
sion work  has  been  carried  into  the  surrounding  district ; -two  smaller  centers,  12 
miles  apart,  provide  medical  care  and  other  community  services. 

At  BAXTER,  134.5  m.,  is  a  monument  12  feet  high,  made  of  blocks 
of  coal  from  the  45  mines  in  Harlan  County. 

A  resident  of  Harlan  County  for  many  years  was  Aunt  Molly  Jack- 
son— midwife,  composer  and  singer  of  ballads — three  of  whose  four  hus- 
bands died  in  mine  accidents  or  from  mine  diseases.  When  she  was  12 
years  old,  Molly  dressed  in  a  costume,  blackened  her  face  with  charcoal, 
and,  with  whoops  and  yells,  ran  to  the  neighboring  farm  to  frighten  her 
playmates.  News  of  Molly's  exploit  traveled  throughout  the  county 
and  it  was  not  long  before  the  sheriff  came  to  arrest  the  child,  on  the 
strength  of  a  law  that  forbade  anyone  to  wear  a  mask.  Molly  was  sen- 
tenced to  10  days  in  jail  and  payment  of  a  fine.  While  in  jail,  the  girl 
composed  a  ballad,  which  she  sang  to  the  jailers  and  to  her  visitors  in 
order  to  earn  money  towards  the  payment  of  her  fine. 

The  day  before  Christmas  I  had  some  fun 
I  black  my  face  and  took  my  gun 
I  went  up  to  Bill  Lewis'  and  made  him  run 
Mr.  Cundif  turn  me  loose. 

The  next  Monday  morning  Bill  Lewis  got  out  a  writ 
When  I  found  it  out  the  wind  I  split 
It  was  just  three  weeks  till  I  came  back  to  Clay 
Cotton  'tested  me  the  very  next  day. 

Then  I  thought  my  case  would  be  light 
When  Cotton  took  me  before  Judge  Right 
For  blackin'  my  face  and  putting  breeches  on. 

He  listened  to  me  till  I  told  my  tale 

And  give  me  ten  days  in  Mr.  Cundif's  jail 

Mr.  Cundif  turn  me  loose. 

When  I  went  in  jail  they  thought  I  was  fool 
They  didn't  offer  me  a  stool 
But  old  Mrs.  Cundif  treated  me  kind 
Because  she  thought  I  had  no  mind. 

Now  what  she  thought  I  did  not  care 
I  know  I  was  just  as  smart  as  her 
Mr.  Cundif  turn  me  loose. 

Hello,  Mr.  Cundif,  if  you'll  open  the  door 
I  won't  put  my  breeches  on  no  more 
Mr.  Cundif  turn  me  loose. 


TOUR    IQ  441 

Left  from  Baxter  on  an  improved  road  to  HARLAN,  1  m.  (1,197  alt.,  4,327 
pop.),  the  coal  capital  of  the  State,  and  seat  of  Harlan  County.  First  called 
Mount  Pleasant,  the  town  was  later  renamed  to  honor  Maj.  Silas  Harlan,  who 
came  to  Kentucky  from  Virginia  in  1774,  and  was  killed  while  leading  his  com- 
mand at  the  Battle  of  Blue  Licks  (August  19,  1782).  The  town,  in  the  valley  be- 
tween Big  and  Little  Black  Mountains,  at  the  confluence  of  the  three  forks  of  the 
upper  Cumberland  River,  was  a  backwoods  village  for  more  than  100  years  after 
its  settlement  in  1819  by  a  small  company  of  Virginians  under  the  leadership  of 
Samuel  Hoard  (Howard).  Since  the  coming  of  the  railroad  in  1911,  the  town  has 
become  an  important  lumber  shipping  point,  as  well  as  the  center  of  an  extensive 
bituminous  and  cannel  coal  area. 

Up  to  1930  the  only  labor  organization  represented  in  the  district  was  the  United 
Mine  Workers  of  America.  Attempts  at  unionization  had  been  bitterly  contested 
by  many  of  the  larger  operators ;  great  bitterness  developed  between  employers  and 
employees  during  the  first  widespread  strike  in  1916.  The  strike  of  1924  closed  the 
mines  of  the  Black  Mountain  Coal  Corporation,  one  of  the  larger  operators,  result- 
ing in  considerable  suffering  among  several  hundred  families  dependent  on  the 
mines  for  a  living.  In  1931,  after  the  national  economic  collapse  had  further  re- 
duced the  market  for  coal,  the  employees  of  the  Evarts  Coal  Company  struck  to 
maintain  wage  rates  that  would  keep  miners  from  utter  destitution.  Both  sides 
resorted  to  violence,  and  several  miners  were  killed.  The  situation  was  investigated 
by  a  Congressional  Committee,  and  on  May  6,  1938,  the  National  Labor  Relations 
Board  began  its  prosecution  of  44  Harlan  County  coal  operators  and  former  deputy 
sheriffs  (see  Tour  4).  The  trial  ended  on  August  1,  1938,  with  a  hung  jury,  but 
on  September  1,  1938,  a  contract  was  signed  by  the  Harlan  County  Coal  Oper- 
ators' Association  with  the  United  Mine  Workers. 

The  mounds  and  rock  shelters  of  this  section  have  yielded  many  artifacts  and 
skeletons.  The  best-known  site  is  a  PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  GROUND  on  Main  St.,  op- 
posite the  hotel.  The  EVERSOLE  COLLECTION  OF  INDIAN  RELICS  (open  on  request), 
N.  Main  St.,  is  unusually  fine,  including  pottery,  beads,  arrowheads,  and  various 
other  articles.  At  the  Harlan  County  Fall  Festival,  held  annually  for  one  week  in 
September  at  the  HARLAN  ARMORY,  prize  farm  products  and  examples  of  handi- 
craft are  exhibited.  The  latter  include  articles  made  on  neighboring  farms,  where 
sheep  are  raised.  The  farm  wives  card  the  wool  and  spin,  dye,  and  weave  it  into 
fabric. 

Between  Baxter  and  Pineville,  US  119  is  called  the  Rhododendron 
Trail  because  of  the  profusion  of  that  shrub  along  the  way;  it  blooms 
from  May  or  early  June  to  late  July. 

At  165.9  m.  is  the  junction  with  US  25E  (see  Tour  4A),  at  a  point 
0.4  miles  south  of  Pineville. 


Tour  20 


Burnside — Monticello — Albany — Burkesville — Glasgow;  102.3  m.,  State 
90. 

Hard-surfaced  roadbed  between  Burnside  and  Albany;  remainder  graveled. 
Accommodations  in  larger  towns;  limited  elsewhere. 


442  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

This  route  winds  through  an  agricultural  region  as  diversified  in 
topography  as  in  the  types  and  occupations  of  the  people.  Its  farms 
vary  widely  in  size  and  methods  of  cultivation.  Subsistence  farming 
predominates,  but  the  region  also  contains  some  .very  fertile  tracts  on 
which  the  modern  methods  of  cultivation  and  equipment  contrast 
sharply  with  those  on  the  neighboring  submarginal  farms  where  oxen 
still  pull  plows. 

The  remoteness  of  the  area  and  the  sparseness  of  population  have 
allowed  a  profusion  of  wild  flowers  to  survive.  Evergreens  abound  and 
ferns  of  many  varieties  grow  close  to  the  roadside. 

BURNSIDE,  0  m.  (705  alt.,  914  pop.)  (see  Tour  3),  is  at  the  junc- 
tion with  US  27  (see  Tour  3). 

Between  a  bridge  (toll  45$)  over  the  Cumberland  River  and  Burn- 
side  Hill  the  scenery  is  particularly  fine,  including  an  extensive  view  of 
the  Cumberland  River  Valley  below  hills  covered  with  pine,  oak,  and 
laurel.  The  road  winds  through  rolling  farms  for  several  miles  south 
of  the  river. 

MILL  SPRINGS,  11.5  m.  (844  alt.,  75  pop.),  a  few  cabins  at  the 
mouth  of  a  cove,  owes  its  place  in  history  to  the  fact  that  the  battle  of 
January  19  and  20,  1862,  fought  some  10  miles  to  the  north  of  this 
place,  is  often  called  the  Battle  of  Mill  Springs  (see  Tour  18).  This 
engagement  is  also  known  as  the  Battle  of  Logan's  Cross  Roads,  Fish- 
ing Creek,  Somerset,  and  Beech  Grove.  Visible  from  the  highway  (R) 
are  the  remains  of  the  Confederate  entrenched  camp,  established  by 
General  Zollicoffer  in  November  1861  to  hold  the  right  flank  of  the 
Confederate  forces  in  Kentucky. 

Prior  to  the  Battle  of  Logan's  Cross  Roads,  General  Zollicoffer  had 
made  his  headquarters  in  the  LANIER  HOUSE  (L).  Back  of  the  house 
is  a  WATER-POWER  GRISTMILL  built  about  1818  and  still  in  operation. 
Its  original  overshot  water  wheel,  31  feet  in  diameter,  is  said  to  have 
been  the  largest  ever  used  in  Kentucky. 

Right  from  Mill  Springs  on  the  River  Rd.  (graveled)  to  a  junction  with  a  foot- 
path 0.5  m.;  L.  on  this  path  about  300  yards  to  HOGG  CAVE,  a  small  stalagmitic 
formation  that  has  yielded  a  large  quantity  of  human  and  animal  bones.  Because 
many  of  the  human  bones  bore  traces  of  gnawing,  it  is  believed  that  the  burials 
had  been  shallow,  and  since  most  of  them  were  found  beneath  a  stalagmite  nearly 
eight  feet  in  diameter,  the  skeletons  are  considered  very  ancient.  Exploration  of 
the  cave  was  made  in  1922  when  the  stalagmite  was  removed. 

At  0.8  m.,  on  River  Rd.,  is  a  path  leading  (R)  about  100  yards  to  COOPER  CAVE 
in  which  extensive  clay  deposits  were  mined,  either  by  early  white  settlers,  by  In- 
dians, or  by  prehistoric  people.  Marks  of  tools  were  still  plainly  visible  when  the 
cave  was  explored.  Further  evidence  of  aboriginal  occupation  was  the  presence  of 
ash  beds,  potsherds,  flint  chips,  and  kitchen  middens.  No  graves  were  found  in 
the  cave. 

At  1  m.  on  the  River  Rd.  is  the  junction  with  a  trail;  L.  here  a  short  distance 
to  MINES  CAVE  (L).  An  entrance  20  feet  high  leads  to  an  outer  chamber  145  feet 
long  and  60  feet  wide.  The  ceiling  is  proportionately  high.  Thousands  of  animal 
bones  and  numerous  artifacts  were  uncovered  here;  they  represent  at  least  three 
distinct  cultures.  A  number  of  the  objects  found  are  in  the  Museum  of  Archeology 
of  the  University  of  Kentucky. 


TOUR    20  443 

Excellent  farmlands  border  State  90  in  this  section;  abandoned  equip- 
ment once  used  in  prospecting  for  oil  is  visible. 

PRICE'S  MEADOW,  12.5  m.,  is  the  site  selected  by  the  Long 
Hunters — so  called  because  of  their  long  hunting  expeditions — as  their 
central  camp.  A  company  of  about  40  men  from  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  attracted  to  the  wilderness  for  the  sake  of  adventure  and  by 
reports  of  plentiful  game,  set  out  in  June  1770  for  Kentucky.  They 
passed  through  Cumberland  Gap  and  established  their  base,  where  they 
found  an  excellent  supply  of  spring  water.  From  this  point  the  men 
went  out  in  parties  to  hunt,  and  to  this  base  they  brought  their  furs 
and  hides  every  full  moon. 

One  evening  in  February  1771  a  group  of  these  hunters  heard  a  voice 
singing  in  the  forest.  They  cautiously  approached  the  spot  whence  the 
sounds  came,  and  there,  stretched  full  length  on  the  ground,  was  Daniel 
Boone,  singing  at  the  top  of  his  lungs.  Boone  (see  Tour  17 A)  joined 
the  Long  Hunters,  and  they  were  met  by  Squire  Boone,  Daniel's 
brother,  who  had  gone  home  to  get  supplies.  About  a  month  later  the 
brothers,  after  an  absence  of  two  years,  set  out  for  home  with  a  large 
quantity  of  furs.  At  Cumberland  Gap  they  were  met  by  Cherokee  who 
appropriated  all  the  peltries.  Dejected  and  without  supplies  to  enable 
them  to  replace  their  loss,  the  Boones  made  their  way  home  empty- 
handed. 

While,  as  a  whole,  the  Long  Hunters'  stay  in  Kentucky  was  profit- 
able, it  was  not  without  several  disasters.  After  a  two-month  trip  away 
from  the  base,  they  returned  to  find  their  peltries  spoiled,  and  their 
dogs,  which  they  had  left  to  guard  the  camp,  a  pack  of  wild  animals. 

With  characteristic  pioneer  calm,  one  of  the  Bledsoes  inscribed  this 
memorandum  on  a  fallen  poplar:  "2,300  deerskins  lost;  Ruination,  by 
God." 

In  February  1772  some  of  the  company  became  discouraged  and  de- 
parted for  the  eastern  settlements.  Roving  Indians  captured  two  of  the 
remaining  men  and  plundered  the  camp.  These  misfortunes  did  not 
discourage  the  hardy  survivors,  however,  and  it  was  not  until  August 
1772  that  the  last  of  them  turned  homeward. 

STEUBENVILLE,  15.6  m.  (887  alt.,  38  pop.),  is  in  an  oil  region; 
along  the  highway  there  are  numerous  producing  oil  wells. 

The  GAP  OF  THE  RIDGE  BATTLEFIELD,  16.6  m.,  is  the  scene 
of  the  Battle  of  Rocky  Gap,  which  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1863. 
General  Morgan  had  avoided  a  pitched  battle  with  the  Union  troops 
encamped  at  Monticello  by  leading  the  Confederate  cavalry  past  the 
Union  encampment  to  this  gap.  The  Union  troops  pursued,  as  Morgan 
had  intended  they  should,  but  their  advance  was  so  rapid  that  the  battle 
was  precipitated  before  the  Confederates  were  prepared  to  defend  them- 
selves. As  a  result  the  Confederates  had  20  killed  and  80  wounded, 
while  in  the  Union  forces  only  4  were  killed  and  26  wounded. 

The  higher  forested  elevations  form  an  unusual  background  along  the 
highway. 


444  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

MONTICELLO,  20.8  m.  (926  alt.,  1,503  pop.),  named  for  the 
Thomas  Jefferson  estate,  was  settled  prior  to  1800  when  Wayne  County, 
of  which  Monticello  is  the  seat,  was  formed.  It  is  by  Elk  Creek  at  the 
western  edge  of  a  rolling  plain.  Industrial  activity  here  consists  of 
pencil  manufacturing  and  the  milling  of  cedar,  flour,  and  meal.  Monti- 
cello  is  a  distributing  center  for  most  of  Wayne  and  Clinton  Counties. 
The  discovery  of  the  Sunnybrook  Oil  Pool  in  1901  started  production  in 
the  Wayne  County  oil  field,  where  continuous  operation  has  resulted  in 
many  local  booms. 

MONTICELLO  PARK,  dedicated  to  soldiers  killed  in  the  War  be- 
tween the  States,  has  shaded  benches  that  are  always  popular  with  the 
townsfolk.  A  DOUGHBOY  MONUMENT  in  the  square  is  the  county's 
tribute  to  its  World  War  soldiers.  In  the  Burton  Building  (R),  by  the 
public  square,  is  the  JOHN  BURTON  COLLECTION  (open  weekdays), 
which  contains  the  last  stagecoach  used  in  Kentucky.  After  many 
years  of  service  this  coach  made  its  last  trip,  from  Burnside  to  Monti- 
cello,  in  1912.  The  collection  also  includes  Indian  relics,  firearms,  me- 
mentoes of  the  War  between  the  States,  and  other  objects  of  local  his- 
torical interest. 

Shelby  M.  Cullom  (1829-1914),  a  native  of  this  area,  was  Governor 
of  Illinois  from  1877  to  1883,  and  United  States  Senator  from  that  State 
from  1883  to  1913.  Preston  H.  Leslie  (1819-1907),  also  born  in  this 
region,  was  Governor  of  Kentucky  from  1871  to  1875,  Governor  of 
Montana  from  1887  to  1889,  and  was  appointed  United  States  District 
Attorney  for  Montana  in  1894. 

In  the  early  spring  frogging  is  a  diversion  of  a  large  part  of  the  popu- 
lace of  this  area.  Late  in  the  evening  parties  in  quest  of  frogs  are  seen 
along  the  road,  headed  toward  streams  and  ponds,  with  lanterns,  gigs, 
and  gunny  sacks. 

At  23.8  m.  is  the  junction  with  the  Wild  Goose  Shoals  Rd.  improved. 

Right  on  this  road  to  the  village  of  MURL,  3  m.  (75  pop.).  The  BARNES 
HOUSE  (open),  the  second  one  beyond  the  post  office  (R),  is  the  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Barnes  who  undertook,  in  1930,  to  revive  home  industries.  They 
brought  out,  repaired,  and  put  into  operation  spinning  and  weaving  equipment 
which  their  ancestors  had  brought  from  Virginia  and  which  had  been  used  as  long 
as  cotton  and  flax  were  grown  in  the  county.  They  produced  coverlets,  scarfs,  and 
runners,  in  designs  used  by  members  of  the  family  a  century  ago.  The  Barnes 
products  soon  were  accorded  a  wide  recognition  for  the  authenticity  of  their  pat- 
terns and  the  excellency  of  their  workmanship. 

State  90  traverses  a  very  rugged  and  broken  terrain  for  about  four 
miles,  following  and  crossing  Beaver  Creek,  named  for  the  beaver  that 
were  plentiful  near  the  mouth  of  the  stream  in  pioneer  days.  West  of 
the  valley  of  Beaver  Creek,  the  land  is  undulating  or  slightly  hilly. 
This  area  has  some  good  farms  with  modernized  houses,  but  most  of  the 
land  is  submarginal  with  primitive  buildings  of  logs  or  slabs.  Along  the 
route  are  tracts  of  virgin  timber,  producing  oil  wells,  laurel-  and  pine- 
covered  hillsides,  a  variety  of  wild  flowers,  and  an  abundance  of  red 
cedar. 


TOUR    20  445 

ZULA,  26.8  m.  (842  alt.,  20  pop.),  is  in  a  bend  on  the  northern  bank 
of  Otter  Creek,  so  named  by  pioneers  because  of  the  many  otter  found 
along  the  stream.  A  water-power  GRIST  AND  FLOUR  MILL  (R)  has 
stood  here  for  more  than  a  century. 

The  highway  crosses  the  creek  and  winds  up  Otter  Creek  Hill  for 
about  two  miles.  Among  the  hills  of  this  region  are  fertile  valleys  in 
which  corn,  hay,  tobacco,  and  wheat  are  grown.  Sinking  creeks,  sink- 
holes, waterfalls,  and  cliffs  are  visible  from  the  road. 

POPLAR  MOUNTAIN  (1,745  alt.),  the  most  prominent  elevation 
in  this  area,  is  (L)  a  spur  of  the  Cumberlands,  and  forms  a  curve  within 
which  is  Stockton's  Valley  (L),  a  fertile  area  named  for  Thomas  Stock- 
ton, a  pioneer. 

At  39.8  m.  State  90  passes  through  WADE'S  GAP  (1,227  alt.). 

Right  from  Wade's  Gap  on  a  foot  trail  that  follows  the  old  overgrown  carriage 
road  to  the  Summit  of  SEWELL  MOUNTAIN  (1,720  alt.),  2  m.  Here  is  RE- 
HOBETH  SPRINGS  (R),  a  watering  place  of  the  early  days,  near  three  chalyb- 
eate springs.  Before  the  War  between  the  States  the  springs  were  visited  by  many 
invalids,  who  proclaimed  numerous  benefits  and  cures.  From  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain, on  a  clear  day,  the  surrounding  country  is  visible  for  a  distance  of  about 
75  miles. 

At  41.8  m.  on  State  90  is  the  junction  with  Kogar  Creek  Rd.,  unim- 
proved. 

Left  on  this  road  to  COPPERAS  KNOB,  4  m.  (1,715  alt.),  topped  with  a  small 
pond.  JENNY'S  KNOB,  5  m.  (1,560  alt.),  is  (R)  one  of  the  highest  peaks  in 
Clinton  County;  FLOWER'S  CAVE  (L)  is  1.5  miles  long  and  has  six  rooms,  which 
have  been  explored;  BALD  ROCK  (R)  is  a  gigantic  treeless  rock  formation. 

ALBANY,  44.9  m.  (964  alt.,  852  pop.),  seat  and  principal  town  of 
Clinton  County,  was  named  for  the  capital  of  New  York.  Settlements 
near  by  at  Paoli  and  in  Stockton's  Valley  were  made  as  early  as  1790 
by  families  chiefly  from  East  Tennessee.  An  old  water-power  GRIST- 
MILL (L)  on  the  western  edge  of  Albany  is  still  operated.  There  is  an 
artificial  lake  and  falls  formed  by  the  mill  dam.  Although  an  unimpor- 
tant outpost  during  the  War  between  the  States,  Federal  troops  took 
possession  of  the  town  early  in  1863  and  remained  for  10  months.  Like 
all  the  border  districts,  this  region  suffered  from  the  operations  of 
numerous  bands  of  guerrillas  during  the  war.  Thomas  E.  Bramlette, 
United  States  district  judge,  1862,  and  Governor  of  Kentucky  from 
1863  to  1867,  was  born  near  Albany  as  was  S.  B.  Maxey  (1825-95), 
who  was  a  United  States  Senator  from  Texas  from  1875  to  1887. 

Albany  is  at  the  junction  with  State  35  (see  Tour  5). 

At  BROWN'S  CROSSROADS,  47.8  m.,  is  a  junction  with  an  un- 
marked road. 

Left  on  this  road  to  BROWN'S  POND  (good  fishing),  3  m.,  covering  25  acres. 
At  49.8  m.  on  State  90  is  the  junction  with  an  unimproved  road. 


446  HIGHWAYS    AND    BYWAYS 

Left  on  this  road  to  CANEY  BRANCH  CAVE  (L),  1  m.,  outstanding  among  the 
caves  in  Clinton  County.  Within  about  40  yards  from  the  entrance  is  a  small 
stream  containing  blindfish.  Because  of  disuse  through  the  generations  that  their 
ancestors  have  lived  in  the  cavernous  darkness,  their  eyes  have  ceased  to  function 
as  organs  of  sight.  Though  the  rudimentary  eyeball  is  still  in  place,  it  is  smaller 
in  size  than  that  of  fish  living  in  open  waters,  and  a  heavy  skin  covers  it.  About 
one-eighth  of  a  mile  deeper  the  cave  divides,  the  left  chamber  extending  beyond 
any  point  yet  explored.  Stalagmites  and  stalactites  of  blue,  purple,  brown,  and 
white  festoon  the  interior. 

West  of  the  junction  with  the  Caney  Branch  Cave  Rd.  is  the  Cum- 
berland Valley;  the  uplands  behind  the  broad  valleys  are  so  dissected 
that  the  land  is  almost  untilled  and  uninhabited.  It  is  a  strangely  quiet 
but  pleasant  area,  unlike,  in  physical  aspect  and  conditions  of  life,  either 
the  upland  Pennyrile  about  it  or  the  mountainous  region  to  the  east. 

A  State  ferry  (free)  crosses  the  Cumberland  River  at  61.9  m. 

BURKESVILLE,  63.5  m.  (581  alt.,  885  pop.),  seat  of  Cumberland 
County,  was  incorporated  in  1810  and  named  for  Samuel  Burke,  an 
early  settler,  who  before  coming  here  had  been  the  first  licensed  tavern 
keeper  in  Greensburg  (see  Tour  18).  The  town  is  on  a  hill  overlooking 
the  Cumberland.  Steamboat  traffic  on  the  river  lasted  exactly  100 
years.  The  first  boat  was  launched  in  1834,  and  the  last  one  made  the 
trip  to  Burnside,  at  the  head  of  navigation,  in  1934.  On  file  in  the 
county  clerk's  office  are  two  bonds  dated  1802  and  1804,  made  by 
Thomas  Lincoln  to  Governor  Garrard  when  Lincoln  was  constable,  and 
in  Deed  Book  "A"  are  records  of  two  deeds  of  Thomas  Lincoln  for 
lands  on  the  Cumberland  River  and  on  Marrowbone  Creek. 

Right  from  Burkesville,  3  m.,  on  State  61  to  the  marked  site  of  one  of  the  earliest 
oil  wells  drilled  in  the  United  States,  accidentally  discovered  by  Dr.  John  Croghan 
on  March  12,  1829,  while  drilling  for  salt  water  near  the  bank  of  the  Cumberland 
River.  There  is  a  local  tradition  that  one  of  the  drillers  remarked  that  he  was 
going  to  drill  until  he  "struck  salt  or  hell."  When  the  bit  was  withdrawn,  after 
having  penetrated  solid  rock  to  a  considerable  depth,  oil  gushed  out,  and  in  a  few 
days  the  flow  had  covered  the  surfaces  of  the  Cumberland  River  and  Big  and 
Little  Rennox  creeks.  The  oil  was  ignited  and  the  river  soon  became  an  inferno 
of  flames,  leaping  to  the  tops  of  the  highest  trees  along  the  banks.  The  well  was 
neglected  for  many  years  until  the  medicinal  quality  of  the  oil  was  discovered. 

Directly  west  of  Burkesville,  State  90  ascends  BURKESVILLE 
HILL,  one  of  the  outstanding  viewpoints  in  the  State.  A  winding 
graveled  road  leads  to  the  top  from  which  scenes  of  rugged  grandeur 
lie  in  every  direction.  On  a  clear  day  the  Cumberland  Mountains  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  gap,  75  miles  to  the  east,  are  visible. 

The  17-mile-long  MARROWBONE  VALLEY,  66.5  m.,  is  some  of 
the  Richest  soil  in  the  State.  The  valley  was  so  named  because  of  its 
fertility,  which  the  pioneers  compared  with  the  richness  of  the  marrow 
of  a  bone.  The  roadway  is  bordered  with  prosperous  farms,  behind 
which  are  beautiful  uplands. 

The  terrain  is  less  rugged  at  73.5  m.  Hilly  country  is  interspersed 
with  lowland  farms  skirting  the  roadside.  Much  of  the  higher  ground 
is  covered  with  second-growth  timber. 


TOUR    20  447 

The  distinguishing  features  of  the  south  central  part  of  the  State  (the 
Pennyrile)  become  more  pronounced  at  79.5  m.  Slopes  of  hills  are 
more  gentle,  and  elevations  more  uniform. 

BEAUMONT,  85.6  m.  (42  pop.),  is  at  the  junction  with  State  163, 
graveled. 

Left  from  Beaumont  on  State  163  to  TOMPKINSVILLE,  15  m.  (850  pop.),  seat 
of  Monroe  County ;  from  Tompkinsville,  2  m.  on  the  Park  Rd.  to  OLD  MULKEY 
MEETING  HOUSE  STATE  PARK  (open  daily;  adm.  10$).  In  1773  Philip 
Mulkey  and  a  group  of  Baptists  from  North  and  South  Carolina  settled  here.  A 
cabin  of  rough-hewn  logs  was  erected  on  a  bluff  near  the  present  OLD  MULKEY 
MEETING  HOUSE.  By  1798  this  building  had  become  inadequate  for  the  congrega- 
tion, so  the  present  structure  was  erected.  This  is  the  oldest  log  meeting  house  in 
Kentucky.  Constructed  of  half-hewn  logs  and  chinked,  it  has  12  corners.  Tradi- 
tion ascribes  the  12  corners  as  representing  the  Twelve  Apostles,  and  again  as  sym- 
bolic of  the  Twelve  Tribes  of  Israel.  In  all  probability  the  design  resulted  from 
necessity.  A  large  structure  was  imperative,  and  logs  of  uniform  thickness  were 
not  available  in  sufficient  length  to  enclose  the  desired  space  within  four  corners. 
When  the  number  of  angles  was  increased,  shorter  logs  of  uniform  thickness  could 
be  used  for  the  side  walls  and  rafters.  No  provision  for  heating  was  ever  made. 
In  cold  weather  a  log  fire  in  the  yard  served  as  a  warming  place.  During  services 
the  men  took  turns  at  keeping  the  fire  burning  and  guarding  against  Indian  attack. 
The  CONGREGATION  RECORD  BOOK,  which  contains  the  names  of  the  members 
written  with  pokeberry  ink,  has  been  preserved.  Huge  oak  trees  stand  in  the  yard. 
In  the  adjoining  burial  ground  is  the  GRAVE  OF  HANNAH  BOONE,  sister  of  Daniel 
Boone,  as  well  as  the  graves  of  many  pioneers,  including  several  Revolutionary 
soldiers. 

Between  Beaumont  and  Glasgow  the  farms  are  more  prosperous  and 
have  a  greater  diversity  of  crops;  there  are  also  numerous  producing 
oil  wells. 

GLASGOW,  102.3  m.  (780  alt.,  5,042  pop.)  (see  Tour  6),  is  at  the 
junction  with  US  3  IE  (see  Tour  6)  and  State  80  (see  Tour  18). 


Part  IV 
Appendices 


Chronology 


1584  Virginia  charter  embraces  territory  which  eventually  becomes  Kentucky. 
1654  Colonel  Wood  explores  Kentucky  as  far  as  the  Mississippi. 
1669  John  Lederer  makes  three  trips  into  the  Blue  Ridges. 
1671  Thomas  Batts  and  Robert  Fallam  reach  Ohio  Valley. 
1673  James  Needham  and  Gabriel  Arthur  explore  in  Tennessee  region. 
1730  John  Sailing,  Williamsburg,  Va.,  first  native  white  American  to  pene- 
trate western  Kentucky,  is  captured  by  Indians. 
1739  M.  Longueil  descends  Ohio  River;  discovers  Big  Bone  Lick. 
1742  John  Howard,  an  Englishman,  crosses  mountains  from  Virginia. 

1750  Dr.  Thomas  Walker  and  companions  cross  Alleghenies  and  pass  through 
Cave  (Cumberland)  Gap  on  exploring  expedition. 

1751  March.  Christopher  Gist  visits  Big  Bone  Lick. 

1756  First  village  in  Kentucky  established  opposite  site  of  Portsmouth,  Ohio, 
by  French  traders. 
Mrs.  Mary  Inglis  is  first  white  woman  to  visit  Kentucky. 

1769  Daniel  Boone,  with  John  Finley  and  four  other  companions,  crosses 
Appalachian  ridges  into  Kentucky  region. 

1770  "Long  Hunters,"  led  by  James  Knox,  reach  country  south  of  Kentucky 
River. 

1771  Simon  Kenton  and  others  visit  Ohio  River  Valley  and  navigate  tribu- 
tary streams. 

1773  June  and  July.  Companies  headed  by  Capt.  Thomas  Bullitt,  Hancock 
Taylor,  and  James,  George,  and  Robert  McAfee  venture  into  northern 
Kentucky.  Captain  Bullitt  reaches  Falls  of  the  Ohio;  he  surveys  land 
below  falls  to  Salt  River  and  up  Salt  to  Bullitt's  Lick. 

August.  Bullitt  makes  first  town  plat  in  Kentucky  above  Ohio  Falls,  on 
part  of  site  of  Louisville. 

1774  May  and  June.  Capt.  James  Harrod,  Abram  Hite,  Jacob  Sandusky,  and 
others  navigate  Kentucky  River  into  what  is  now  Mercer  County.  They 
lay  off  Harrodstown  (now  Harrodsburg) . 

Daniel  Boone  warns  Kentucky  surveyors  of  impending  Indian  wars. 

1775  March.  Party  of  30,  led  by  Daniel  Boone,  reaches  Rockcastle  River. 
Col.  Richard  Henderson  and  others  acquire  from  Cherokees  land  be- 
tween Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Cumberland  Rivers  and  as  far  east  as  Cum- 
berland Mountains.  Virginia  later  refuses  to  recognize  their  right.  Daniel 
Boone,  earlier,  marked  road  through  southern  wilderness  via  Cumber- 
land Gap  to  "Cuntuckey,"  the  first  marked  road  in  Kentucky. 

45i 


452  CHRONOLOGY 

April.  Daniel  Boone  and  small  party  build  fort  for  settlement  (Boones- 
boro)  on  southern  bank  of  Kentucky  River.  Settlements  made  at  Boil- 
ing Spring  (Mercer  County)  and  St.  Asaph's  (Lincoln  County). 
May.  Simon  Kenton  and  Thomas  Williams  land  at  mouth  of  Limestone 
Creek  (now  Maysville)  and  plant  corn  crop. 

May.  Representatives  chosen  by  people  of  Transylvania  meet  at  Boones- 
boro,  agree  on  proprietary  government  and  pass  nine  laws. 
September.  Delegate  from  State  of  Transylvania  to  Continental  Con- 
gress refused  seat  by  Virginia. 

September.  Boone  and  others  bring  wives  and  families  to  Kentucky. 
October.  Fort  built  at  Royal  Spring  (Georgetown). 

1776  George  Rogers  Clark  moves  to  Kentucky.  Kentucky  County  created 
out  of  Fincastle  County  by  Virginia.  McClellan's  Fort  (Georgetown) 
attacked  by  Indians. 

1777  Harrodsburg  besieged  by  Indians  under  Chief  Blackfish.  Boonesboro 
also   attacked.    Kentucky    County    sends    representatives    to    Virginia 
House  of  Burgesses.  First  court  opened  at  Harrodsburg  (September). 
Harrodsburg's  population  198. 

Harrodsburg,  Boonesboro,  and  St.  Asaph's  are  only  settlements  with- 
standing Indian  attacks  of  this  year.  Salt  making  becomes  Kentucky's 
earliest  industry. 

1778  George  Rogers  Clark  appointed  to  lead  forces  against  British  post  in 
Illinois.  Daniel  Boone,  captured  by  Indians  near  Blue  Licks,  escapes 
four  months  later.  French  and  Indians  besiege  Boonesboro  for  13  days; 
siege  lifted  by  treaty.  Capt.  James  Patton,  Richard  Chenoweth,  and 
others  build  fort  and  lay  foundation  of  Louisville. 

Virginia  grants  Colonel  Henderson  and  associates  200,000  acres  on  Ohio 
below  Green  River. 

1779  Col.  Robert  Patterson  begins  fort  at  Lexington;  town  laid  out.  Vir- 
ginia Legislature  passes  land  law  for  Kentucky,  permitting  unsuper- 
vised  surveys.  Many  overlapped;   confusion  of  title  results  in  many 
lawsuits. 

Bryan  Station  (Fayette  County)  established. 

1780  Colonel  Byrd  with  British  force  compels  surrender  of  Ruddle's  and 
Martin's  stations. 

Three  hundred  large  family  boats  filled  with  immigrants  arrive  at  Falls 

of  the  Ohio  during  spring. 

Town  of  Louisville  established  by  act  of  Virginia  Legislature. 

Kentucky  County  divided  into  three  counties:  Jefferson,  Lincoln,  and 

Fayette. 

1782  Capt.  James  Estill  and  eight  men  killed  by  Wyandots  near  Mount 
Sterling.  Four  months'  drought.  Bryan  Station  besieged  by  Indians. 
Fort  Nelson  built  at  Louisville.  Battle  of  Blue  Licks  (Aug.  19). 
Brig.  Gen.  Clark,  with  1,050  men,  ends  Indian  raids  into  Kentucky. 


CHRONOLOGY  453 

1783  Kentucky  becomes  a  judicial  district;  district  court  opens  at  Harrods- 
burg  in  March.  First  horse  race  in  Kentucky  run  at  Rumble's  race  path ; 
second  at  Higgins'  race  path — both  near  Harrodsburg. 

1784  First  of  nine  conventions,  in  session  in  Danville,  considers  separation 
of  Kentucky  from  Virginia. 

1786  Towns  of  Frankfort,  Stanford,  and  Washington  founded. 

1787  Navigation  of  Mississippi  discussed  at  Danville. 

June.  Gen.  James  Wilkinson  descends  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans  with 
cargo  of  tobacco  and  other  Kentucky  products.  Spanish  Governor  gives 
permit  for  marketing. 

August  18.  John  and  Fielding  Bradford  establish  Kentucky  Gazette, 
second  newspaper  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  at  Lexington. 

1788  Spanish  Government  offers  Kentucky  commercial  favors  "if  the  people 
of  Kentucky  would  erect  themselves  into  an  independent  state." 

1790  First  Federal  census  of  Kentucky:  population  73,677. 

July.  Ninth  convention  of  Kentucky  accepts  terms  offered  by  Virginia 
in  1789;  fixes  June  1,  1792,  for  independence. 

1791  January.  Congress  creates  local  board  of  war  for  District  of  Kentucky. 
General  Scott  leads  Kentucky  Volunteers  against  Indians  on  Wabash. 
Military  expeditions  under  Gen.  James  Wilkinson,   Gen.  Arthur  St. 
Clair,  and  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne. 

February  4.  Congress  authorizes  Kentucky  to  frame  a  constitution. 

1792  April  3.  Convention  meets  at  Danville  to  frame  a  State  constitution. 
May.  Isaac  Shelby  elected  first  Governor  of  Kentucky. 

June  1.  Kentucky,  with  an  area  of  37,600  square  miles,  admitted  as 
State  into  the  Union. 

June  4.  Kentucky  Legislature  assembles  at  Lexington;  selects  Frank- 
fort as  capital  (June  6). 

August.  First  paper  mill  in  Kentucky  built  at  Georgetown  (operated 
until  1836). 

1793  September  28.  Draft  of  Kentuckians  ordered  by  Governor  Shelby  to 
replenish  forces  of  General  Wayne. 

November  1.  Legislature  meets  for  first  time  at  Frankfort. 
November  16.  First  line  of  packets  on  Ohio  River  established  at  Cin- 
cinnati; monthly  service  to  Pittsburgh;  Limestone  (Maysville)  is  made 
boat  station. 

1794  May.  Citizens  meet  at  Lexington;  pass  resolutions  regarding  free  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi. 

August.  Edward  West  successfully  runs  a  steamboat  on  Elkhorn  Creek, 
near  Lexington — first  on  mid-Western  waters. 

1795  Kentucky  Academy  established. 

Spanish  Governor  of  Louisiana  sends  Thomas  Powers  to  negotiate  with 
Kentucky. 


454  CHRONOLOGY 

1796  Lexington  Library  established  with  400  volumes. 

1797  July.  Thomas  Powers,  Spanish  agent  "to  concert  a  separation  of  Ken- 
tucky from  the  Union,"  again  comes  to  Kentucky. 

November.  Henry  Clay  arrives  from  Virginia;  opens  law  office  in  Lex- 
ington. 

1798  February.  Legislature  endows  each  of  five  Kentucky  academies  with 
6,000  acres  of  land. 

June.  John  Fitch,  steamboat  inventor,  dies  at  Bardstown. 
November.  "Kentucky  resolutions  of   1798;"  favoring  nullification  of 
alien  and  sedition  laws,  passed  by  legislature. 
Henry  Clay  advocates  gradual  emancipation  of  slaves. 
December.  Transylvania  University  established  by  union  of  Transyl- 
vania  Seminary   (founded    1780)    and   Kentucky  Academy    (founded 
1796). 

1799  August.  Constitutional  convention  meets  at  Frankfort. 

1800  Population  220,955.  Right  of  deposit  for  American  trade  at  New  Or- 
leans suspended,  creating  great  excitement  in  Kentucky.  Great  Revival 
begins  in  Kentucky  in  July. 

1802  Kentucky  Insurance  Company  chartered,  with  banking  powers,  at  Lex- 
ington. 

1803  First  stage  route  from  Lexington  via  Winchester  and  Mount  Sterling 
to  Olympian  Springs  in  Bath  County. 

1805  State  legislature  charters  company  to  construct  canal  around  Falls  of 
Ohio  River  at  Louisville.  Aaron  Burr  makes  first  visit  to  Kentucky. 
John  Breckinridge  becomes  U.S.  Attorney  General. 

1806  July  4.  Western  World,  new  Frankfort  weekly,  describes  intrigues  with 
Spain,  implicating  Wilkinson,  Brown,  Innes,  and  others. 

November  3.  Aaron  Burr,  charged  with  high  misdemeanor,  appears  in 
Frankfort  court;  defended  by  Henry  Clay  and  acquitted  (December 
2).  His  acquittal  celebrated  by  brilliant  ball  at  Frankfort. 
December.   Bank  of  Kentucky  organized  with  authorized  capital  of 
$1,000,000. 

1808  Bardstown  becomes  seat  of  Catholic  "mother  diocese"  of  region  west 
of  Alleghenies. 

June  3.  Jefferson  Davis  born  in  Christian  County. 

1809  John  Hutchins  discovers  Mammoth  Cave. 

Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell,  "father  of  ovariotomy,"  successfully  performs, 
at  Danville,  first  operation  in  world  for  excision  of  ovarian  tumor. 
January  19.  Clay  and  Marshall  fight  duel  near  Louisville. 
February  12.  Abraham  Lincoln  born  in  Hardin  (now  Larue)  County. 

1810  Population  406,511. 

1811  January  31.  Lands  granted  at  10  cents  per  acre  to  encourage  building  of 
iron  and  salt  works  in  Pulaski  and  Wayne  Counties. 


CHRONOLOGY  455 

November.  Great  earthquake,  most  severe  in  West,  occurs. 
Henry  Clay  becomes  speaker  of  U.S.  House  of  Representatives. 

1812  Sisters  of  Loretto  and  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth  founded. 
February.    Kentucky    Legislature    appropriates    $12.50    "for    digging 
stumps  out  of  State  House  yard." 

June  18.  Congress  declares  war  with  England. 

1813  May   5.   Brig.  Gen.  Green  Clay,  with  3,000  Kentuckians,   cuts  way 
through  enemy's  lines  into  Fort  Meigs,  reinforcing  General  Harrison. 
October  5.  Gov.  Shelby  with  4,000  Kentuckians  participates  in  Battle 
of  the  Thames. 

November  25.  Statehouse  at  Frankfort  burned. 

1814  Nazareth  College  founded  in  Nelson  County. 

1815  January  4.  Kentucky  Militia,  2,500  under  Gen.  John  Thomas,  reaches 
New  Orleans. 

February.  Fayette  hospital  for  the  insane  chartered. 
July.  First  cattle  show  in  West  held  at  Sandersville. 

1817  Lexington-Maysville,  and  Lexington-Louisville  turnpike  road  companies 
chartered. 

May  6-30.  Enterprise,  first  steamboat  to  ascend  the  Mississippi  and 

Ohio,  reaches  Louisville  in  25  days. 

June.  Cornerstone  of  Lunatic  Asylum — the  first  erected  West  of  the 

Appalachian  Mountains — is  laid  at  Lexington. 

December  12.  Earthquake. 

1818  Most  of  46  independent  banks  chartered  in  State  fail. 
January.  Company  chartered  to  build  canal  at  Falls  of  the  Ohio. 
February  4.  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  dies  near  Louisville. 

1819  Centre   College  at  Danville  and   St.   Joseph's  College   at   Bardstown 
founded.  Agricultural  show  at  Lexington. 

1820  Population    564,317.    Former   President   Madison   feted   at   Louisville 
(June  24). 

Bank  of  Commonwealth,  with  $2,000,000  capital,  chartered  (Nov.). 

1822  Lotteries  authorized  to  establish  medical  college  at  Lexington  and  to 
drain  ponds  in  Louisville. 

Augusta  College  (Methodist)  at  Augusta  chartered. 

1823  Col.  James  Morrison  of  Lexington  (d.  April  23)  bequeathes  $60,000 
to  Transylvania  University. 

Kentucky  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  established  at  Danville. 

1824  Stage  line  from  Maysville  through  Lexington  and  Frankfort  to  Louis- 
ville (two  days)  and  to  Washington,  D.C.  (six  days)  begins  (April  17). 
Henry  Clay  is  candidate  for  Presidency. 

Capitol  at  Frankfort  destroyed  by  fire.  (Nov.  4). 


456  CHRONOLOGY 

1825  Louisville  &  Portland  Canal  chartered,  with  capital  of  $600,000. 
March  7.  Henry  Clay  becomes  U.S.  Secretary  of  State. 
March.  General  Lafayette  welcomed  in  Kentucky. 

Science  Hill  Academy  founded  in  Shelby  County. 

1826  Clay-Randolph  duel  near  Washington,  B.C. 

1828  February  13.  Louisville  becomes  a  city. 

Natural  gas  discovered  by  Samuel  White  on  Green  River. 

1829  Louisville  &  Portland  Canal  opens. 

1830  Population  687,917. 

January.  Companies  chartered  to  build  railroad  from  Lexington  to  Ohio 

River. 

January  29.  Common-school  law,  providing  for  tax-supported  schools, 

enacted. 

March.  Model  of  railway  locomotive  engine  and  coach,  constructed  by 

Joseph  Bruen  of  Lexington,  exhibited  at  Frankfort. 

Oil  discovered  near  Burkesville,  during  boring  for  salt;  spouts  50  feet. 

October  22.  First  rail  of  Lexington  &  Ohio  R.R.  is  laid  at  Lexington. 

1831  Four  hundred  and  six  steamboats  and  421   flatboats  and  keel-boats, 
76,233  tons,  pass  through  Louisville  &  Portland  Canal. 

1832  October.  Asiatic  cholera  epidemic  in  many  Kentucky  towns. 

1833  February.  Importation  of  slaves  prohibited.  Legislature  adopts  resolu- 
tions in  favor  of  Union  and  against  nullification. 

March.  Kentucky  Colonization  Society  sends   102   freed  Negroes  to 

Liberia. 

May  and  August.  Asiastic  cholera  again  sweeps  State. 

September.  Kentucky  Livestock  Association  holds  exhibit  at  Lexington. 

1835  January  29.  First  train  arrives  at  Frankfort  from  Lexington — time:  2 
hours,  29  minutes. 

1836  Richard  M.  Johnson  elected  Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 
Kentucky  Historical  Society  founded  at  Frankfort. 

1837  Medical  College  of  Louisville   (Medical  School  of  the  University  of 
Louisville)  opened. 

1838  February.  State  Agricultural  Society  organized. 

1840  Population  779,828.  Louisville  College  chartered  (January). 

Five  locks  and  dams  are  under  construction  on  Kentucky  River  (Dec.) 

1841  Numerous    frays   between    abolitionists   and   opponents.    Temperance 
movement  makes  gains  in  State. 

1842  February  5.  Kentucky  Institute  for  the  Blind  established  at  Louisville. 

1844  October.  Factory  for  spinning  and  weaving  silk  established  at  Newport. 

1845  May.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  organized  at  Louisville. 
June  4.  True  American,  abolitionist  journal,  established  at  Lexington  by 
Cassius  M.  Clay.  Refuses  (Aug.  14)  to  discontinue  journal;  press  and 
type  seized. 


CHRONOLOGY  457 

September  13.  Body  of  Daniel  Boone,  first  citizen  of  Kentucky,  brought 
from  Missouri,  re-interred  in  Frankfort  Cemetery. 

1846  February  7.  University  of  Louisville  chartered. 

1847  July  20.  Kentuckians  who  fell  in  Mexican  War  are  reburied  in  State 
Cemetery  at  Frankfort.  (O'Hara's  poem,  "Bivouac  of  the  Dead,"  writ- 
ten to  commemorate  this  event.) 

December.  Telegraph  lines  connect  larger  Kentucky  cities  with  Nash- 
ville and  Cincinnati. 

1848  November  7.  Zachary  Taylor  becomes  President-elect. 

1849  October.  Constitutional  convention  meets  at  Frankfort. 

1850  Population  982,405. 

1851  March.  Emancipated  slaves  compelled  to  leave  State. 

July   19.  Wire  suspension  railroad  bridge  completed  over  Kentucky 
River  at  Frankfort. 

1852  June  29.  Henry  Clay  dies  at  Washington,  D.C. 

1853  James  Guthrie,  of  Louisville,  becomes  U.S.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
and  Jefferson  Davis  U.S.  Secretary  of  War. 

March.  Livestock  importing  agency  organized  in  Lexington. 
May  18.  Steamboat  Eclipse  reaches  Louisville  from  New  Orleans  in 
record  time  of  4  days,  9  hours  and  31  minutes. 
October.  Sixty-three  Negroes,  most  of  them  freed  slaves,  leave  Louis- 
ville for  Liberia. 

December.  Joel  T.  Hart,  Kentucky  sculptor,  completes  busts  of  John 
J.  Crittenden,  Charles  A.  Wickliffe,  and  Henry  Clay. 

1855  "Bloody  Monday"  election  riots  in  Louisville;   22  persons  die,  much 
property  destroyed. 

1856  March   7.  Kentucky  Agricultural  Society  organized  to  stage  annual 
State  Fair. 

November.  John  C.  Breckinridge  of  Lexington  is  elected  Vice  President 
of  the  United  States. 

1857  October.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  conference  at  Hopkins- 
ville,  votes  to  expunge  general  rule  forbidding  "the  buying  and  selling 
of  men,  women  and  children,  with  intent  to  enslave  them." 

1859  October  28-29.  Mob  destroys  the  plant  of  the  True  South,  abolition 
paper  at  Newport. 

1860  Population  1,155,684.  Great  "Union"  meeting  throughout  State  (Janu- 
ary). Secession  feeling  grows  (November).  Abraham  Lincoln  elected 
(November)  though  voted  down  in  Kentucky. 

1861  February  11.  Legislature,  refusing  to  call  convention  which  might  take 
Kentucky  out  of  the  Union,  adjourns. 

March  5.  Two  Kentuckians  join  Lincoln's  cabinet:  Joseph  Holt  as  Sec- 
retary of  War,  and  Montgomery  Blair  as  Postmaster  General. 


458  CHRONOLOGY 

April  15.  Governor  Magoffin  refuses  to  furnish  militia  for  Union.  State 
remains  neutral.  President  Lincoln  promises  not  to  attack  Kentucky  if 
it  remains  neutral. 

May.  Numerous  skirmishes  in  Kentucky.  Union  and  Confederate  troops 
encamp  within  State,  notwithstanding  Kentucky's  position  of  neutrality. 
November  18.  ''Sovereignty  Convention,"  at  Russellville,  declares  Ken- 
tucky a  Confederate  State,  with  Bowling  Green  chosen  as  capital. 
December  10-12.  Kentucky  delegates  are  seated  in  Confederate  Con- 
gress. 

1862  January  19.  Battle  of  Mill  Spring;  Confederate  General  F.  K.  Zolli- 
coffer  killed. 

March  11.  Legislature  rules  that  any  person  in  Confederate  Army  or 
service  who  gives  voluntary  aid  against  United  States  or  Kentucky, 
shall  be  expatriated  and  no  longer  be  a  citizen  of  Kentucky  except  by 
permit  of  State  legislature. 

June  1.  U.S.  Military  Commandant  of  Kentucky  appointed. 
July.  Morgan  and  his  men  conduct  raids  into  Kentucky. 
October  4.  Inaugural  ceremonies  of  Provisional  (Confederate)  Govern- 
ment of  Kentucky  held  at  Frankfort,  with  Richard  Hawes  of  Bourbon 
County  as  Governor.  Four  hours  later  Provisional  Government  flees 
from  Frankfort,  never  to  return. 
October  8.  Battle  of  Perryville. 

1863  January  1.  President  Lincoln  issues  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
December  24.  First  lot  of  sugar  and  molasses  received  at  Louisville 
since  Confederate  blockade  of  the  Mississippi  was  established  in  1861. 

1864  May.  Governor  Bramlette  calls  for  10,000  men. 
July.  President  Lincoln  places  State  under  martial  law. 

November  24.  First  street  railway  line  in  Louisville  begins  operation. 

1865  February.  College  of  Agriculture,  as  part  of  Kentucky  University  at  or 
near  Lexington,  established  by  legislative  act. 

March  12.  Sue  Munday  (Marcellus  Jerome  Clark),  notorious  guerrilla, 

captured  and  hanged  in  Louisville. 

April.  Southern  leaders  surrender  to  Federal  commanders. 

November    11.   General   Palmer's  methods  in   Kentucky  are   termed 

"monarchial"  by  General  Sherman.  Grand  Jury  later  indicts  Palmer  for 

enticing  slaves  to  leave  State. 

November  30.  President  Johnson  restores  privilege  of  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  (suspended  by  Lincoln  on  December  15,  1863)  to  all  border 
States  except  Kentucky. 

December.  Lead  ore  discovered  in  Owen,  Henry,  and  other  counties; 

oil  wells  drilled  in  many  localities. 

December.  Legislature  repeals  drastic  wartime  acts. 


CHRONOLOGY  459 

1866  January.  Legislature  votes  to  restore  county  courthouses  burned  or 
destroyed  during  the  war. 

January.  Ashland,  home  of  Henry  Clay  at  Lexington,  bought  by  Uni- 
versity of  Kentucky. 

February.  Legislature  passes  acts  relating  to  Negro  welfare  and  educa- 
tion. Requests  removal  of  Freedmen's  Bureau  from  Kentucky. 
May.  National  Tobacco  Fair  at  Louisville. 

?867  Legislature  rejects  (January)  Fourteenth  Amendment;  passes  (Feb.) 
Amnesty  bill.  Theodore  O'Hara,  Kentucky  poet,  dies  (June  10)  in 
Alabama. 

1868  March  20.  Jesse  James  and  gang  rob  Russellville  bank. 

1869  March.  Legislature  rejects  Fifteenth  Amendment. 

1870  Population  1,321,011. 

February  18.  Railroad  bridge  across  Ohio  River  at  Louisville  is  dedi- 
cated. 

1871  January.  Ku  Klux  Klan  raids. 

November.  Enlarged  Louisville  &  Portland  Canal  opened. 

1872  April  27.  Public  Library  opened  at  Louisville  with  20,000  books  and 
100,000  museum  specimens. 

September.  National  Industrial  Exposition  opens  at  Louisville. 

1873  October  7.  First  Negro  high  school  in  State  opened  in  Louisville. 
October  13.  Barney  Macauley's  new  $200,000  theater  in  Louisville  com- 
pleted. 

1875  Louisville  largest  whisky  market  in  world. 
April.  Plan  to  utilize  water  power  at  Ohio  Falls. 
May  17.  First  Kentucky  Derby  won  by  Aristides. 

October  8.  Jefferson  Davis  speaks  to  5,000  at  Christian  County  Fair; 

visits  his  old  home  at  Fairview  (October  10). 

November  27.  Mary  Anderson  makes  debut  at  Macauley  Theater  in 

Louisville. 

1876  May  15.  Vagrant  wins  second  Kentucky  Derby.  Dom  Pedro,  Emperor 
of  Brazil,  watches  Derby. 

1879  First  telephone  exchange  in  Louisville. 

1880  Population  1,648,690.  U.S.  Government  gains  control  of  Louisville  & 
Portland  Canal,  abolishing  tolls. 

1882  McCoy-Hatfield  feud  flares  with  renewed  vigor. 

1883  August.  Southern  Exposition  opens  at  Louisville. 

1884  May.  Filson  Club  founded  at  Louisville. 

1885  Local  option  reforms  win  in  many  counties. 

1890  Population  1,858,635.  Tornado  (March  27)  kills  120,  destroys  $2,500,- 
000  of  property  in  Louisville.  Constitutional  convention  meets  (Sept.) 
at  Frankfort. 


460  CHRONOLOGY 

1893  February.  John  G.  Carlisle,  U.S.  Senator,  becomes  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 

1898  Kentucky   furnishes  three  regiments   of  infantry  and  two  troops   of 
cavalry  in  war  with  Spain. 

1899  Famous  "Music  Hall  Convention"  of  State  Democrats  held  in  Louis- 
ville. 

William  Goebel  loses  in  gubernatorial  race  to  W.  S.  Taylor  (Republi- 
can). Result  contested. 

1900  Population  2,147,174. 

January  30.  Goebel,  mortally  wounded  in  front  of  statehouse,  declared 

victor  in  election  contest. 

1902  First  Kentucky  State  Fair  at  Churchill  Downs. 
1904  "Night  Rider"  outbreaks. 
1908  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  becomes  State  University. 

Legislature  passes  child  labor  law. 
1910  Population  2,289,905. 
1912  Kentucky  Home  Society  for  Negro  orphans  founded. 

1916  State  University  becomes  University  of  Kentucky. 

1917  Camps  Knox,   Thomas,   Zachary  Taylor,   and   Stanley  established  in 
Kentucky.  During  war  75,043  Kentuckians  serve  in  U.S.  forces. 
Frank  L.  McVey  becomes  President  of  University  of  Kentucky. 

1920  Population  2,416,630. 

1922  U.S.  Hospital  for  service  men  at  Outwood  completed. 

WHAS,  first  radio  broadcasting  station  in  Kentucky,  established. 

1925  Frontier  Nursing  Service  founded  for  obstetrical  and  other  work  in 
Kentucky  mountains. 

1926  State  ranks  second  in  tobacco  production  for  the  year. 
Efficiency  commission  appointed  to  study  governmental  structure. 

1927  J.  B.  Speed  Memorial  Museum,  Louisville,  opened. 

1928  Bowman  Field  purchased  by  Louisville  for  airport. 

1929  January.  Mammoth  Cave  estate,  bought  by  Mammoth  Cave  National 
Park  Association,  becomes  Mammoth  Cave  National  Park. 

May  8.  Paducah-Brookport  Bridge  dedicated. 

October  31.  Municipal  bridge  connecting  Louisville  and  Central  Ken- 
tucky with  Jeffersonville,  Ind.,  dedicated. 

1930  Population  2,614,589. 

1932  Camp  Knox  becomes  permanent  military  post  known  as  Fort  Knox. 

1933  Kentucky  State  Planning  Board  organized. 

1934  Miners'  strike  in  Harlan  County. 

1936  March  7.  Shields-Nickell  Governmental  Reorganization  Act  is  approved 
by  State  legislature. 


CHRONOLOGY  461 

Thirty  Kentucky  distilleries  produce  more  than  one-third  of  the  na- 
tional output. 

Gold  bullion  depository  at  Fort  Knox  completed. 

1937  January  and  February.  One  of  greatest  floods  in  history  of  United 
States  raises  crest  of  Ohio  River  and  its  many  tributary  streams.  Speedy 
relief  and  rehabilitation. 

The  University  of  Louisville  celebrates  its  centennial  as  "the  oldest 
municipal  university  in  the  United  States." 


Selective  Bibliography 

GEOGRAPHY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY 

Burroughs,  W.  G.  Geography  of  the  Kentucky  Knobs.  Frankfort,  1926.  284 
p.  illus.,  maps,  diagrs.,  tables,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Sur- 
vey. Geologic  Reports.  Ser.  6,  v.  19.) 

Geography  of  the  Western  Kentucky  Coal  Field.  Frankfort,  1924. 

211  p.,  illus.,  maps,  diagrs.,  tables,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological 
Survey.  Geologic  Reports.  Ser.  6,  v.  24.) 

Davis,  D.  H.  Geography  of  the  Bluegrass  Region.  Frankfort,  1927.  215  p. 
illus.,  maps,  diagrs.,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geologic 
Reports.  Ser.  6,  v.  23.) 

Geography  of  the  Jackson  Purchase.  Frankfort,  1923.  185  p.  illus., 

maps,  tables,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geologic  Re- 
ports. Ser.  6,  v.  9.) 

Geography  of  the  Mountains  of  Eastern  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1924. 

180  p.  illus.,  maps,  diagrs.,  tables,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological 
Survey.  Geologic  Reports.  Ser.  6,  v.  18.) 

Jillson,  W.  R.  Kentucky  State  Parks.  Frankfort,  1927.  92  p.  illus.,  maps, 
bibliog.  citations,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.)  Describes  pro- 
posed State  park  areas,  as  well  as  those  already  established. 

Topography  of  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1927.  291  p.  illus.,  maps,  tables, 

bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geologic  Reports.  Ser.  6, 
v.  30.) 

Randolph,  Helen.  Mammoth  Cave  and  the  Cave  Region  of  Kentucky.  Louis- 
ville, Standard  Printing  Company,  1924.  156  p.  illus.,  maps,  bibliog.,  index. 
Brief,  authoritative  work  combining  history  and  description. 

Sauer,  C.  O.  Geography  of  the  Pennyroyal.  Frankfort,  1927.  303  p.  illus., 
maps,  diagrs.,  tables,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geo- 
logic Reports.  Ser.  6,  v.  25.) 

GEOLOGY,  MINERAL  RESOURCES,  AND  PALEONTOLOGY 

Jillson,  W.  R.  The  Geology  and  Mineral  Resources  of  Kentucky.  Frankfort, 
1928.  409  p.  illus.,  maps,  diagrs.,  tables,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Sur- 
vey. Geologic  Reports. -Ser.  6,  v.  17.) 

,  et  al.  Paleontology  of  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1931.  469  p.  illus.,  maps, 

diagrs.,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geologic  Reports. 
Ser.  6,  v.  36.)  Symposium  by  paleontologists. 

Miller,  A.  McQ.  The  Geology  of  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1919.  392  p.  illus., 
maps,  charts,  tables,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Department  of  Geology 
and  Forestry.  Geologic  Reports.  Ser.  5,  bull.  2.)  An  outstanding  work  on 
the  geology  of  the  State. 

462 


SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY  463 

Twenhofel,  W.  H.  The  Building  of  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1931.  328  p.  illus., 
diagrs.,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geologic  Reports. 
Ser.  6,  v.  37.)  Study  of  the  geological  development  of  Kentucky  from  its 
earliest  determined  beginning  to  the  present  day. 

PLANT  AND  ANIMAL  LIFE 

Funkhouser,  W.  D.  Wild  Life  in  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1925.  385  p.  illus., 
maps,  diagrs.,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geologic 
Reports.  Ser.  6,  v.  16.)  Definitive  work  on  the  reptiles,  birds,  and  mam- 
mals of  Kentucky,  with  a  discussion  of  their  appearance,  habits,  and  eco- 
nomic importance. 

Mattoon,  W.  R.  Common  Forest  Trees  of  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1923.  72  p. 
illus.  (Kentucky  Department  of  Agriculture.)  Handbook  describing  70 
common  forest  trees  of  the  State. 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  INDIANS 

Beckner,  Lucien.  "Eskippakithiki,  Last  Indian  Town  in  Kentucky."  Louis- 
ville, 1932.  (Reprint  from  Filson  Club  History  Quarterly,  October  1932, 
v.  6:  355-382.)  A  chapter  in  Kentucky  history  never  before  written. 

Call,  R.  W.  Life  and  Writings  of  Rafinesque.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton  &  Com- 
pany, 1895.  227  p.  (Filson  Club  Publications,  no.  10.)  An  account  of  the 
famous  botanist,  together  with  a  bibliography  of  his  writings. 

Funkhouser,  W.  D.,  and  W.  S.  Webb.  Ancient  Life  in  Kentucky.  Frankfort, 
1928.  349  p.  illus.,  diagrs.,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey. 
Geologic  Reports.  Ser.  6,  v.  34.)  Brief  presentation  of  paleontological  suc- 
cession with  a  systematic  outline  of  the  archeology  of  the  State. 

HISTORY 

Brown,  J.  M.  The  Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton 
&  Company,  1889.  263  p.  front.  (Filson  Club  Publications,  no.  6.)  Good 
source  of  the  pre-statehood  conventions.  Written  partly  as  a  defense  of 
John  Brown,  first  U.S.  Senator  from  Kentucky. 

Clark,  T.  D.  A  History  of  Kentucky.  New  York,  Prentice-Hall,  1937.  702  p. 
illus.,  index.  The  most  recent  of  Kentucky  histories;  also  one  of  the  most 
readable.  Extensive  annotated  bibliography. 

Clay,  Cassius  M.  Cassius  Marcellus  Clay,  Life  and  Memoirs,  Writings  and 
Speeches.  Cincinnati,  J.  Fletcher  Brennan,  1886.  600  p.  illus.  Autobiography 
of  a  Kentucky  abolitionist. 

Collins,  L.  and  R.  H.  History  of  Kentucky.  Covington,  Collins  &  Company, 
and  later  by  other  publishers.  1874  and  subsequent  reprints.  (Revision  of 
an  earlier  1 -volume  edition  by  L.  Collins.)  2  v.  illus.,  maps,  indexes.  Valu- 
able Kentuckiana.  Not  always  dependable,  but  indispensable,  especially  in 
county  histories. 

Connelley,  W.  E.,  and  E.  M.  Coulter.  History  of  Kentucky.  Chicago  and  New 
York,  American  Historical  Society,  1922.  5  v.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  Ed.  by 


464  SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Judge  Charles  Kerr.  One  of  the  most  complete  and  scholarly  works  on  Ken- 
tucky history;  copious  bibliographical  and  explanatory  footnotes. 

Coulter,  E.  M.  The  Civil  War  and  Readjustment  in  Kentucky.  Chapel  Hill, 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1926.  468  p.  maps,  bibliog.,  index. 
Well-rounded  study  giving  modern  emphasis  to  social  and  economic  factors. 

Jillson,  W.  R.,  ed.  Filson's  Kentucke.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton  &  Company, 
1929.  198  p.  map,  bibliog.,  index.  Facsimile  reproduction  of  the  original 
Wilmington  edition  (1784). 

Kentucky  History.  Louisville,  Standard  Printing  Company,  1936.  96 

p.  illus.  An  annotated  bibliography  of  Kentucky  history  divided  into  re- 
gional, State,  and  county  histories. 

Pioneer  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  State  Journal  Company,  1934.  152  p. 

bibliog.,  index.  Describes  exploration  and  settlement,  early  cartography  and 
primitive  geography. 

Tales  of  the  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground.  Louisville,  C.  T.  Bearing 


Printing  Company,  1930.  154  p.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  A  collection  of  papers 
containing  some  good  pioneer  history,  including  John  Cowan's  "Journal" 
and  Levi  Todd's  "Narrative  of  1774-1777." 

Lester,  W.  S.  The  Transylvania  Colony.  Spencer,  Ind.,  Samuel  R.  Guard  & 
Company,  1935.  288  p.  bibliog.  An  account  of  the  colony's  origin,  aims, 
and  accomplishments. 

Marshall,  Humphrey.  History  of  Kentucky.  2d  ed.  Frankfort,  G.  S.  Robinson, 
1824.  2  v.  The  first  edition  (1812)  is  the  second  earliest  history  of  the 
State,  ranking  second  only  to  Filson's  Kentucke.  Includes  Rafinesque's 
"The  Ancient  Annals  of  Kentucky." 

Mayo,  Bernard.  Henry  Clay,  Spokesman  of  the  New  West.  Boston,  Houghton 
Mifflin  Company,  1937.  570  p.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  The  life  of  the  "Great 
Compromiser"  cast  upon  a  panoramic  and  richly  detailed  background  of 
the  pioneer  West.  This  is  the  first  of  three  volumes. 

McElroy,  R.  McNutt.  Kentucky  in  the  Nation's  History.  New  York,  Moffat, 
Yard  &  Company,  1909.  590  p.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  Contains  an  exten- 
sive and  important  bibliography. 

Shaler,  N.  S.  Kentucky,  a  Pioneer  Commonwealth.  Boston,  Houghton  Mifflin 
Company,  1885.  433  p.  map,  bibliog.,  index.  Until  the  publication  of  T.  D. 
Clark's  History  of  Kentucky  that  was  considered  the  best  1 -volume  his- 
torical work  on  Kentucky.  It  is  written  in  a  fluent,  easy  style  and  is  very 
reliable. 

Townsend,  J.  W.  Kentucky:  Mother  of  Governors.  Frankfort,  Kentucky  State 
Historical  Society,  1910.  51  p.  front. 

BIOGRAPHY 

Biographical  Encyclopaedia  of  Kentucky.  Cincinnati,  M.  Armstrong  &  Com- 
pany, 1878.  792  p.  illus.,  index.  The  biographies  are  usually  autobiographic, 
and  perhaps  are  overlaudatory,  but  are  factually  correct. 

Southard,  M.  Y.,  and  E.  C.  Miller.  Who's  Who  in  Kentucky.  Louisville,  Stan- 
dard Printing  Company,  1936.  582  p.  illus.,  index. 


SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY  465 

TRAGEDIES,  FEUDS,  AND  OUTLAWS 

Johnson,  L.  F.  Famous  Kentucky  Tragedies  and  Trials.  Louisville,  Baldwin 
Law  Book  Company,  1916.  336  p.  The  "headlines"  of  the  past.  The  Sharp- 
Beauchamp  case  described  in  this  volume  is  probably  the  most  unusual  in 
Kentucky  annals. 

Mutzenberg,  C.  G.  Kentucky's  Famous  Feuds  and  Tragedies.  New  York,  R.  F. 
Fenno  &  Company,  1917.  333  p.  One  of  the  best  accounts  of  the  mountain 
feuds. 

Rothert,  0.  A.  The  Outlaws  of  Cave-in-Rock.  Cleveland,  A.  H.  Clark  Com- 
pany, 1924.  364  p.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  Accounts  of  the  famous  highway- 
men and  river  pirates  who  operated  in  pioneer  days. 

GENERAL  SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 

Gardner,  C.  Clever  Country.  Chicago,  F.  H.  Revell  Company,  1931.  159  p. 
illus.,  maps.  Entertainingly  written  account  of  the  Frontier  Nursing  Service 
and  of  the  mountain  people  it  serves. 

Kentucky  Department  of  Health.  Annual  Report  Cooperative  County  Health 
Work  in  Kentucky:  1936.  Louisville.  29  p.  maps,  diagrs.,  graphs,  charts, 
tables.  (Bulletin,  v.  10,  no.  1;  August,  1937.) 

Odum,  H.  W.  Southern  Regions  of  the  United  States.  Chapel  Hill,  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina  Press,  1936.  664  p.  maps,  charts,  tables,  bibliog., 
index.  An  important  source  of  social,  economic  and  cultural  information  on 
Kentucky,  as  well  as  on  the  South  as  a  whole. 

Poole,  Ernest.  Nurses  on  Horseback.  New  York,  Macmillan  Company,  1932. 
168  p.  illus.  This  story  of  the  Frontier  Nursing  Service  is  full  of  human 
interest. 

Thomas,  W.  R.  Life  Among  the  Hills  and  Mountains  of  Kentucky.  Louisville, 
Standard  Printing  Company,  1926.  414  p.  illus.,  tables,  bibliog.  Historical, 
social,  and  economic  surveys  of  each  of  the  38  mountain  counties,  and  a 
general  picture  of  cultural  conditions  in  the  mountains  of  eastern  Kentucky. 

INDUSTRY,  AGRICULTURE,  AND  LABOR 

Hasse,  A.  R.  An  Index  to  Economic  Materials  in  Printed  Documents  of  the 
State  of  Kentucky:  1792-1904.  Washington,  Carnegie  Institution  of  Wash- 
ington, 1910.  452  p.  A  tabulation  and  chronology  of  Kentucky  documents. 

Jillson,  W.  R.  Oil  and  Gas  in  Western  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1930.  632  p.  illus., 
maps,  diagrs.,  bibliog.,  index.  (Kentucky  Geological  Survey.  Geologic  Re- 
ports. Ser.  6,  v.  39.)  Short  introductory  essay,  followed  by  detailed  accounts 
of  drilling  and  production  in  23  counties  of  this  region. 

Kentucky  Bureau  of  Agriculture,  Labor  and  Statistics.  Kentucky  Resources 
and  Industries.  Frankfort,  1929.  389  p.  illus.,  maps,  tables,  charts.  (Bulletin 
34.)  Although  not  up-to-date  statistically,  this  is  a  good  source  of  infor- 
mation, as  well  as  an  industrial  directory  of  each  of  the  120  counties  in 
the  State. 


466  SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Kentucky  Department  of  Agriculture,  Labor  and  Statistics.  Biennial  Report: 
1934-1935.  Frankfort,  State  Journal  Company,  1936.  273  p.  illus.,  tables, 
charts. 

Kentucky  State  Planning  Board.  Progress  Report  and  Appendices.  Louisville, 
1935.  2  v.,  511  numb,  maps,  tables,  diagrs.  Mimeographed  compilation  of 
social  and  economic  data  on  Kentucky;  good  statistical  source. 

Ross,  Malcolm.  Machine  Age  in  the  Hills.  New  York,  Macmillan  Company, 
1933.  248  p.  illus.  Good  study  of  conditions  in  the  coal  mining  communities 
of  Kentucky  and  West  Virginia.  Impartial  on  the  whole  and  popular  in 
style. 

U.S.  Department  of  Commerce.  An  Aid  for  Analyzing  Markets  in  Indiana 
and  Kentucky.  Washington,  Government  Printing  Office,  1933.  24  p.  maps, 
tables,  graphs,  charts,  diagrs.  Presents  a  clear  picture  of  the  State  and  its 
counties  in  economic  terms.  Helpful  in  understanding  the  economic  organi- 
zation of  Kentucky. 

TRANSPORTATION 

Ambler,  C.  H.  History  of  Transportation  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  Glendale,  Calif., 
Arthur  H.  Clark  Company,  1932.  465  p.  illus.,  maps,  bibliog.  citations,  in- 
dex. The  story  of  transportation  in  the  Ohio  Valley  from  the  canoe  to  the 
packet-boat.  Describes  the  advent  of  the  railroad  and  the  present  problems 
of  river  transportation. 

Clark,  T.  D.  The  Beginning  of  the  L&N.  Louisville,  Standard  Printing  Com- 
pany, 1933.  107  p.  bibliog.  The  development  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville 
R.R.  from  1836  to  1860. 

A  Pioneer  Southern  Railroad.  Chapel  Hill,  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina Press,  1936.  171  p.  illus.,  map,  bibliog.,  index.  The  story  of  the  south- 
ern branches  of  Illinois  Central  R.R.  told  with  color  and  filled  with  the 
lore  and  romance  of  the  railroad. 

Coleman,  J.  W.  Stage-Coach  Days  in  the  Bluegrass.  Louisville,  Standard 
Printing  Company,  1935.  286  p.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  Describes  stagecoach 
travel  and  tavern  days  in  central  Kentucky  between  1800  and  1900. 

Kerr,  J.  L.  The  Story  of  a  Southern  Carrier;  the  Louisville  &  Nashville. 
New  York,  Young  &  Ottley,  1933.  67  p.  bibliog.  Outline  history  of  a  rail- 
road which  played  a  recognized  part  in  the  industrial  reconstruction  of  the 
South. 

Lafferty,  M.  W.  A  Pioneer  Railroad  of  the  West.  Lexington,  University  of 
Kentucky,  1916.  29  p.  Historical  accounts,  interspersed  with  many  reminis- 
cences, of  the  Lexington  &  Ohio  R.R.  (now  part  of  the  L&N  R.R.),  Ken- 
tucky's first  railroad  of  importance. 

Pusey,  W.  A.  The  Wilderness  Road  to  Kentucky.  New  York,  George  H. 
Doran  Company,  1921.  146  p.  illus.,  maps,  bibliog.  Describes  a  route  of 
travel  by  which  early  settlers  arrived  in  the  State. 

Verhoeff,  Mary.  Kentucky  River  Navigation.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton  & 
Company,  1917.  257  p.  illus.,  maps,  tables,  bibliog.,  index.  (Filson  Club 
Publications,  no.  28.)  Study  of  navigation  on  the  most  historically  and 
economically  important  tributary  of  the  Ohio  in  the  State. 


SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY  467 

EDUCATION 

Baber,  George.  Origin  of  Popular  Education  in  Kentucky.  Louisville,  J.  P. 
Morton  &  Company,  1881.  48  p.  Traces  the  beginnings  of  public  education 
in  the  State. 

Hamlett,  Barksdale.  History  of  Education  in  Kentucky.  Frankfort,  1914.  334 
p.  illus.,  index.  (Kentucky  Department  of  Education.)  Compilation  of 
reports  from  State  superintendents  and  county  commissioners  describing 
education  primarily  useful  for  research.  The  last  chapter  gives  historical 
sketches  of  39  church  and  endowed  schools  and  colleges  in  the  State. 

Lewis,  A.  F.  History  of  Higher  Education  in  Kentucky.  Washington,  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  1899.  350  p.  illus.,  index.  Not  always  dependable,  but 
the  only  single  volume  covering  higher  education  in  Kentucky  thoroughly. 

Peter,  Robert.  Transylvania  University.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton  &  Company, 
1896.  202  p.  front.,  bibliog.  citations,  index.  (Filson  Club  Publications,  no. 
11.)  Historical  sketch  (from  its  founding  to  1865)  of  the  institution  which 
pioneered  in  higher  education  in  Kentucky. 

FOLKLORE 

Mackaye,  Percy.  Tall  Tales  of  the  Kentucky  Mountains.  New  York,  George 
H.  Doran  Company,  1926.  185  p.  illus.  Twelve  tales  told  in  the  mountain 
vernacular  by  Solomon  Shell,  a  legendary  figure. 

Thomas,  D.  L.  and  L.  B.  Kentucky  Superstitions.  Princeton,  Princeton  Uni- 
versity Press,  1920.  334  p.  bibliog.,  index.  Compilation  of  almost  4,000 
superstitions  of  every  type. 

RELIGION 

Bishop,  R.  H.  Outline  of  the  History  of  the  Church  in  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky. Lexington,  Thomas  T.  Skillman,  1824.  420  p.  Contains  the  memoirs 
of  Rev.  David  Rice;  sketches  of  the  origin  and  status  of  the  various  de- 
nominations at  the  time;  and  accounts  of  some  of  the  men  prominent  in 
the  early  ministry  of  Kentucky. 

Fortune,  A.  W.  The  Disciples  in  Kentucky.  Lexington,  Convention  of  the 
Christian  Churches  in  Kentucky,  1932.  415  p.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  An 
account  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Kentucky  by  one  of  its  ministers. 

Redford,  A.  H.  The  History  of  Methodism  in  Kentucky.  Nashville,  Southern 
Methodist  Publishing  House,  1868-1870.  3  v.  front.  Detailed,  authoritative 
work. 

Spencer,  J.  H.  A  History  of  Kentucky  Baptists.  Cincinnati,  J.  H.  Spencer, 
1886.  2  v.  fronts.,  indexes.  History  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Kentucky 
from  1769  to  1885  with  more  than  800  biographical  sketches. 

Webb,  B.  J.  Centenary  of  Catholicity  in  Kentucky.  Louisville,  Charles  A. 
Rogers,  1884.  594  p.  illus.,  index.  Describes  Catholicism  and  Catholics  in 
Kentucky  up  to  the  year  of  publication.  An  historical  source  book  of  more 
or  less  reliability. 


468  SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY 

LITERATURE 

Allen,  James  Lane.  Flute  and  Violin.  New  York,  Harper  &  Brothers,  1891. 
308  p.  illus.  Collection  of  Kentucky  tales  and  romances. 

Bird,  Robert  Montgomery.  Nick  of  the  Woods,  or  The  Jibbenainosay.  N.Y., 
Macy-Masius  (Vanguard  Press),  1928.  395  p.  Reprint  of  a  popular  tale  of 
the  Kentucky  frontier  first  issued  in  1837;  edited  by  Mark  Van  Doren. 

Cobb,  Irvin  S.  Old  Judge  Priest.  New  York,  George  H.  Doran  Company, 
1916.  401  p.  (Murray  Hill  Library  edition.)  Stories  about  Old  Judge  Priest, 
a  homely,  shrewd,  lovable  figure,  typical  of  Kentucky  and  the  Old  South. 

Kentucky.  New  York,  George  H.  Doran  Company,  1924.  With  illus. 

by  John  T.  McCutcheon.  62  p.  (Cobb's  America  Guyed  Books.)  Humorous 
characterization  of  the  State  by  Kentucky's  outstanding  humorist. 

Combs,  J.  H.,  ed.  All  That's  Kentucky.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton  &  Company, 
1915.  285  p.  index.  First-rate  anthology  of  poetry  on  Kentucky  and  its 
lore. 

Dickey,  Fannie  Porter.  Blades  o'  Blue  Grass.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton  &  Com- 
pany, 1892.  331  p.  illus.  Compilation  of  poems  by  Kentuckians  with  bio- 
graphical sketches.  "The  Bivouac  of  the  Dead"  by  Theodore  O'Hara  is 
the  most  outstanding  selection. 

Fox,  John,  Jr.  Hell  Per  Sartain.  New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1904. 
119  p.  Describes  a  locality  high  up  in  the  Cumberlands. 

Furman,  Lucy.  Quare  Women.  Concord,  Atlantic  Monthly  Press,  1923.  219 
p.  Sympathetic  portrayal  of  the  mountain  people  of  eastern  Kentucky. 
Mirth-provoking  and  penetrating. 

Hall,  Eliza  Calvert.  The  Land  of  Long  Ago.  Boston,  Little,  Brown  &  Com- 
pany, 1909.  285  p.  illus.  Homely  short  sketches  of  olden  times  in  the  rural 
districts  of  the  Pennyrile. 

Hergesheimer,  Joseph.  The  Limestone  Tree.  New  York,  Alfred  A.  Knopf, 
1931.  386  p.  Chronicle  of  an  American  family  in  Kentucky  from  the  eight- 
eenth to  the  nineteenth  century. 

Johnston,  Annie  Fellows.  The  Little  Colonel  Stories.  Boston,  Page  Company, 
1930.  559  p.  illus.  Contains  "The  Little  Colonel,"  "The  Giant  Scissors," 
and  "Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky";  depicts  child  life  of  a  quarter- 
century  ago  in  the  Pewee  Valley  neighborhood  of  Oldham  County. 

Knight,  Grant  C.  James  Lane  Allen  and  the  Genteel  Tradition.  Chapel  Hill, 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1935.  313  p.  front.,  bibliog.,  index. 
Critical  and  biographical  study. 

Rice,  Alice  Hegan.  Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch.  New  York,  The  Cen- 
tury Company,  1901.  153  p.  An  epic  of  optimism. 

Roberts,  Elizabeth  Madox.  The  Time  of  Man.  New  York,  Viking  Press,  1926. 
328  p.  Tells  of  the  struggle  of  the  Chessers,  a  family  of  the  Kentucky 
hills,  to  better  their  condition. 

Stuart,  Jesse.  Head  o'  W -Hallow.  New  York,  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Company,  1936. 
342  p.  Nineteen  stories  about  the  mountain  people  of  eastern  Kentucky. 

Townsend,  J.  W.  Kentucky  in  American  Letters:  1784-1912.  Cedar  Rapids, 


SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY  469 

Iowa,  Torch  Press,  1913.  2  v.,  index.  Indispensable  work  on  Kentucky  lit- 
erature. While  its  critical  evaluations  do  not  equal  its  wealth  of  informa- 
tion, it  remains  the  most  comprehensive  work  on  Kentucky  literature  up  to 
the  date  of  its  publication.  Includes  excerpts  from  each  writer's  work. 
Venable,  W.  H.  Beginnings  of  Literary  Culture  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  Cincin- 
nati, Robert  Clarke  &  Company,  1891.  519  p.  bibliog.  citations,  index.  A 
valuable  collection  of  literary,  historical,  and  biographical  material  on  early 
western  literary  culture. 

ART  AND  HANDICRAFT 

Goodrich,  F.  L.  Mountain  Homespun.  New  Haven,  Yale  University  Press, 
1931.  91  p.  illus.,  index.  Folklore  interwoven  with  a  description  of  the  home 
crafts,  particularly  weaving  and  spinning,  of  the  people  living  in  the  south- 
ern Appalachians. 

Price,  S.  W.  The  Old  Masters  of  the  Bluegrass.  Louisville,  J.  P.  Morton  & 
Company,  1902.  181  p.  illus.  (Filson  Club  Publications,  no.  17.)  Biographi- 
cal sketches  of  Jouett,  Bush,  Grimes,  Frazer,  Morgan,  Hart,  and  Price, 
with  portraits  and  illustrations  of  the  artists'  work. 

ARCHITECTURE 

Lathrop,  Elise.  Historic  Houses  of  Early  America.  New  York,  Tudor  Pub- 
lishing Company,  1927.  464  p.  illus.,  bibliog.  Chap.  XVI,  pp.  387-398, 
includes  the  stories  of  11  famous  Kentucky  houses. 

Newcomb,  Rexford.  "The  Architecture  of  Old  Kentucky."  (Kentucky  State 
Historical  Society  Register.  Frankfort,  July,  1933.  v.  31,  no.  96,  pp.  185- 
200.)  Authoritative,  indispensable  article  on  the  architecture  of  early  Ken- 
tucky. 

Simpson,  E.  M.  Bluegrass  Houses  and  Their  Traditions.  Lexington,  Transyl- 
vania Press,  1932.  408  p.  illus.  Steeped  in  the  lore  and  the  cherished  ro- 
mance that  cling  to  the  renowned  houses  of  the  Bluegrass. 

MUSIC  AND  THEATER 

Campbell,  0.  D.,  and  C.  J.  Sharp.  English  Folk  Songs  from  the  Southern 
Appalachians.  New  York,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  1917.  341  p.  map,  bibliog., 
index.  An  important  contribution  to  the  subject  of  American  folk  song, 
comprising  122  songs  and  ballads  and  323  tunes.  Contains  an  introduction 
and  notes. 

Cox,  J.  H.  Folk  Songs  of  the  South.  Cambridge,  Harvard  University  Press, 
1925.  545  p.  illus.,  map  (West  Virginia),  index.  An  annotated  compilation 
of  185  songs  and  ballads  with  their  different  versions,  and  26  tunes  collected 
under  the  auspices  of  the  West  Virginia  Folklore  Society. 

Jackson,  G.  P.  White  Spirituals  in  the  Southern  Uplands.  Chapel  Hill,  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina  Press,  1933.  444  p.  illus.,  bibliog.,  index.  A  pioneer 
work;  it  is  also  important  for  the  history  of  the  Negro  spiritual. 


470  SELECTIVE    BIBLIOGRAPHY 

McGill,  Josephine.  Folk-songs  of  the  Kentucky  Mountains,  New  York, 
Boosey  &  Company,  1917.  106  p.  Twenty  traditional  ballads  of  the  Ken- 
tucky mountain  people  notated  and  arranged  for  the  piano. 

Odum,  H.  W.,  and  G.  B.  Johnson.  The  Negro  and  His  Songs.  Chapel  Hill, 
University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1925.  306  p.  index.  A  valuable  study. 

Smith,  Sol.  Theatrical  Management  in  the  West  and  South  for  Thirty  Years 
with  Anecdotal  Sketches.  New  York,  Harper  &  Brothers,  1868.  276  p.  illus. 
Delightful  memoirs  of  a  retired  actor  who  often  played  in  Kentucky.  Sol 
Smith  establishes  the  origin  of  the  Jim  Crow  song  in  Louisville. 

Wyman,  Loraine,  and  Howard  Brockway.  Lonesome  Tunes:  Folk  Songs 
from  the  Kentucky  Mountains.  New  York,  H.  W.  Gray  Company,  1916. 
102  p.  front.  Twenty-five  folk  songs,  including  "Barbara  Allen"  and  "Sweet 
William  and  Lady  Margery"  with  elaborate  accompaniments. 

KENTUCKY  HORSES 

Alves,  Clinton.  "Blood  Will  Tell."  Country  Life,  April  1938. 

Beer,  Richard.  "Lexington  en  Route."  Country  Life,  May  1936. 

Bradley,  Col.  E.  R.  "My  Four  Kentucky  Derbies."  Saturday  Evening  Post, 

May  8,  1937. 
Estes,  J.  A.  "The  Thoroughbred  in  the  Blue  Grass."  (In  Keeneland  Opening 

Program,  1936.) 
"Life  of  a  Derby  Starter."  (In  Kentucky  Derby  Official  Program.  Louisville, 

1935.) 

Reed,  Robert.  "Big  Red  Comes  of  Age."  Country  Gentleman,  April  1938. 
Reynolds,  Quentin.  "The  Sun  Shines  Bright."  Collier's,  May  8,  1937. 


Index 


Abbey    of    Our    Lady    of    Gethsemane 
(near  New  Haven),  291 

Aboriginal  remains,  28 

Adair,  John,  171 

Adairland,  294 

Administration  Building  (University  of 
Kentucky),   208-209 

Advertiser,   103 

AGRICULTURE,  50-55: 

Tobacco,  51-52;  hemp,  51-52;  cot- 
ton, 52 ;  rye,  53 ;  corn,  53-54 ; 
beef  cattle,  53;  sheep,  53  j  horses, 
53 ;  cows,  54 ;  dairying,  54 ;  po- 
tatoes, 54;  hogs,  54;  population, 
55 ;  Kentucky  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station,  55 

Airdrie,    Site    of    (near    Central    City), 
357 

Airlines,  see  Transportation 

Albany,   445 

Alberti  House  (near  Lexington),  396 

Alexander    House,    Site    of    the    (near 
Central  City),  357 

Alexander,   Robert,   357 

Alexandria,  250 

Alleghan  Hall  (near  Lexington),  254 

Allen,  425 

Allen,  James  Lane,  122,  374 

Alton,   282 

American  Colonization  Society,  44 

American  Georgian,  see  Architecture 

American  Printing  House  for  the  Blind 
(Louisville),   193 

American      Rolling     Mill      ("Armco") 
Plant    (Ashland),   143 

Anchorage,  349 

Ancient    History:    or    Annals    of   Ken- 
tucky (Lexington),  205-206 

Anderson    County    Courthouse    (Law- 
renceburg),   355 

Anderson,  Mary,  184 

Anderson-Mayer  Aid  Act,   74 

Andrews  Steel  Company  Plant   (New- 
port), 249 

Angeline,  433 

ANIMAL  LIFE,  12-15 

ARCHEOLOGY  AND  INDIANS,  28-34 

ARCHITECTURE,   125-35: 

Federal,  128;  Georgian  Colonial, 
126-30;  Greek  Revival,  130; 
Gothic  Revival,  133;  Roman- 


esque,  134-135;  American  Geor- 
gian, 136 

Armco  Park  (Ashland),  388 

Arnett's    Gap    (near    Salyersville),   416 

Arthur,  Col.  Alexander  Allen,  277 

Arthur,  Gabriel,  35 

ARTS: 

Theater,  110-16;  Painting  and  Sculp- 
ture, 116-21;  Literature,  121-25; 
Architecture,  125-35 

Asbury  College   (Wilmore),  87,  375 

ASHLAND,  139-46 

Ashland,   home   of   Henry   Clay    (Lex- 
ington), 139,  201 

Ashland  Livestock  Market,  144 

Atkinson  Arboretum   (Earlington),  319 

Auburn,  383 

Audubon,  John  James,  118,  184,  408 

Audubon  Memorial  State  Park,  316 

Audubon  Museum,  316 

Augusta,  333-34 

Augusta,  Battle  of,  334 

Augusta  College,  334 

Aunt  Jane  of  Kentucky,  307 

Austin,  Walter,  35 

Avalon  Inn  (Harrodsburg),  174 

Ax  Lake  (near  Barlow),  412 

Bacon  College,  170-71 

Baker   Hunt   Foundation    (Covington), 

152 

Bald  Rock  (near  Albany),  445 
Ballads,  see  Folklore  and  Folk  Music 
Bank  of  Greensburg,  432 
Bank  of  Kentucky,  43 
Bank    of    the    United    States    Building 

(Louisville),   188 
Banking  question,  43 
Baptist  Church    (Ghent),  338 
Baptist  Church  (New  Liberty),  343 
Baptists,  see  Religion 
Barbourville,   275 
Badin,  Reverend  Theodore,  292 
Bardstown,   380 
Bardwell,  325 
Barlow,  412 

Barnard,  George  Gray,  120 
Barnes  House  (Murl),  444 
Bartlett-Rhodes    Park    (Middlesboro), 

277 

Basin  Mountain  (near  Berea),  270 
Battle  Grove  Cemetery,  252 


471 


472  INDEX 

Battles: 

Augusta,  334;  Cynthiana,  252;  Mid- 
dle Creek,  240-41;  Mill  Springs, 
44-45;  Munfordville,  '302;  Pa- 
ducah,  45;  Perryville,  45;  Rich- 
mond, 267 

Batts,  Thomas,  35 

Baxter,  440 

Bayou  De  Chien  (near  Hickman),  327- 
28 

Beal  Residence  (Bardstown),  381 

Beard,  Dan  Carter,  150;  boyhood 
home,  151 

Beaumont,  447 

Beaumont  (near  Lexington),  375 

Beaumont  Inn,  formerly  Daughters' 
College  (Harrodsburg),  174.  See 
also  Architecture 

Beaver  Creek,  425 

Beaver  Dam,  357 

Beaver  Valley  Golf  and  Country  Club 
(near  Allen),  425 

Beckham,  J.  C.  W.,  46;  birthplace,  356 

Bedford,  340 

Beeches   (Pewee  Valley),  348 

Beechwood,   343 

Bell,  Col.  William,  304 

Belief onte  furnace,  141,  142 

Bell's  Tavern,  Ruins  of  (Glasgow  Junc- 
tion), 304 

Benton,  386 

Berea,  269 

Berea  College,  87,  269 

Bernstadt,  431 

Bethel  Baptist  Church  (Fairview),  384 

Bethel  Women's  Junior  College  (Hop- 
kinsville),  321 

Beveridge,  "Uncle  Sol,"  427 

Beyond  Dark  Hills,  124 

Big  Black  Mountain  (near  Lynch), 
439 

Big  Bone  Lick,  26-27,  335 

Big  Sandy  Poems,  414 

Big  Sandy   River,   233;   dam,   236 

Big  Sandy  Valley,  233,  238 

Bingham,  Judge   Robert  W.,   105,   189 

Bird,  Captain  Henry,  251 

Bishop,  Stephen,  310 

Bisuden  House  (near  Winchester),  393 

Black  is  My  Truelove's  Hair,  123 

Elaine,  James  G.,  345 

"Bloody  Monday,"  44,  182 

Bloomfield,  355 

Blue  and  Gray  State  Park  (near  Elk- 
ton),  383-84 

Blue-Banks  (near  Flemingsburg) ,  365 

Blue  Licks  Battlefield  State  Park,  369 

Blue  Licks  Church,  370 

Blue  Licks  Springs  Tavern,  Site  of,  370 


Blue  Spring   (near  Stamping  Ground), 

343 
Bluegrass   region,   18,   54,  96,   122.  See 

also  Natural  Setting 
Bodley  House  (Lexington),  206 
Bond's  Mill  Covered  Bridge,  283 
Bonnieville,  301 
Boone  Creek,  438 
Boone,  Daniel,  37,  274,  363,  423 
Boone  Hill,  438 

Boone  Memorial   (Frankfort),  165 
Boone,  Squire,  37 

Boone  Tunnel  (near  Shakertown),  375 
Boone's  Trace,  269,  270,  274 
Boonesboro,  39,   169;   site  of  fort,  421 
Boonesboro     Memorial     Bridge     (near 

Boonesboro),  421 
Bostonia   (boat),  333 
Botherum   (Lexington),  202 
Bourbon  Stockyards   (Louisville),  192- 

93 

Bowling  Green,  306 
Boyd  Place   (Cynthiana),  252 
Boyle,  John,  257 
Bracken  Church  (Minerva),  333 
Bradford,  John,  102 
Bradley,  Col.  E.  R.,  220 
Bradley  House,  257 
Bramlette,  Thomas  E.,  445 
Branch   Bank  of   Kentucky    (Washing- 
ton), 367 
Brandenburg,  402 
Brandeis,  Louis  Dembitz,  184 
Bragg,  Gen.  Braxton,  44-45,  302 
Breaks  of  Sandy  (near  Elkhorn  City), 

437 

Breckinridge,   Desha,   106 
Breckinridge,  John,  41,  44 
Breckinridge,  Mary,  429 
Breckinridge,  Robert  J.,  86 
Breckinridge    Statue    (Lexington),    206 
Breckinridge,  W.  C.  P.,   105-106 
Brelsford's   Caves   (near  Cadiz),  385 
Bremen,  358 
Brennan,  Alfred  L.,  119 
Brest  Tavern  (near  Paris),  372 
Bridwell   House    (Mount   Washington), 

290 

Bright's  Inn  (near  Stanford),  259 
Broke    Leg    Falls    (near    Frenchburg), 

417 

Bromley,  262-63 
Brooksville,  333 
Brown  (Orlando)  House  (Frankfort), 

164.  See  also  Architecture 
Brown-Pusey  Community  House  (Eliz- 

abethtown),  300 

Brown's  Pond  (near  Albany),  445 
Brownsville,  305 
Bryan  Station,  40,  373-74 


Bryantsville,  255 

Buchanan,  James,  Jr.,  299 

Buck  Lake  (near  Barlow),  412 

Buck  Pond  (near  Versailles),  397 

Buckley  Tavern,  346 

Buckner  Homestead  (near  Branden- 
burg), 403 

Buckner,  Gen.  Simon  Bolivar,  301-302 

Buell,   Gen.   Don   Carlos,  45,  302 

Buffalo  Springs  (Stamping  Ground), 
343 

Bullitt,   Capt.   Thomas,  37-38,  40,   178 

Bullock,  William,  262 

Burbridge,  Gen.  Stephen  G.,  252 

Burdett's  Knob,  256 

Burford  Hill  (Harrodsburg),  173-74. 
See  also  Architecture 

Burgoo,  353-54 

Burgoo  King,  354 

Buried  City   (Wickliffe),  413 

Burkesville,  446 

Burkesville  Hill  (near  Burkesville),  446 

Burlington,  263 

Burning  Springs,  430 

Burnside,  260-61 

Burnside's  Headquarters  (Burnside), 
261 

Burr,  Aaron,  41 

Burr  House  (Paris),  372 

Burton   Collection    (Monticello),  444 

Bush,  Joseph  H.,  119 

Bush,  Sarah,  299 

Butler  Memorial  State  Park,  341 

Butler  (Thomas)  House  (Butler  Me- 
morial State  Park),  342 

Butler,  William  Orlando,  342 

Butler  (William  Orlando)  House  (Car- 
rollton),  339 

Bybee  Potteries,  see  Waco  and  Bybee 
Potteries 

Cabin  Creek,  332 

Cadiz,  385 

Cahokia,  39 

Caldwell   House    (near   Danville),   284 

Calhoun,  358 

Callaway,  Elizabeth,  421,  422 

Calmes,  Gen.  Marquis,  Tomb  of  (near 
Versailles),  397 

Calumet  Farm  (near  Lexington),  218- 
19 

Camp  Beauregard,  Site  of  (near  May- 
field),  323 

Camp  Dick  Robinson  House,  255-56 

Camp  meetings,  82,  415-16 

Camp  Nelson,   255 

Camp  Nelson  United  States  Military 
Cemetery,  255 

Campbell,   Alexander,    79,   373 


INDEX  473 

Campbell  County  Courthouse  (Alex- 
andria), 250 

Campbell  County  Courthouse  (New- 
port), 248-49 

Campbell,  Col.  John,  178,  254 
Campbell,   Reverend  Thomas,  373 
Cane     Ridge     Meeting     House     (near 
Paris),  372-73.  See  also  Religion 
Caney    Branch    Cave    (near    Albany), 
446 

Caney  Creek  Junior  College  and  Com- 
munity Center  (near  Hindman), 
426 

Canton,  385 

Capital  Bridge   (Frankfort),  166 

Cardinal's  Daughter,  349 

Cardome    (near  Georgetown),  264 

Carlisle,  John  G.,  150 

Carmichael  Collection  of  Prehistoric 
Relics,  305 

Carneal  House,  now  Rothier  Home 
(Covington),  151 

Carpenter  Lake   (near  Maceo),  406 

Carrollton,  339 

Carter  Caves  and  Natural  Bridges 
(near  Olive  Hill),  390 

Casa  Bianca   (near  Gratz),  345 

Cascade  Caves  (near  Olive  Hill),  389 

Castleton  (Lexington),  217 

Castlewood  (near  Richmond),  269.  See 
also  Architecture 

Cathedral  of  the  Assumption  (Louis- 
ville), 185 

Catholics,  see  Religion 

Catlettsburg,  387 

Cave  City,  303 

"Cave  Gap,"  36 

Cave  Hill  Cemetery  (Louisville),  196 

Cawein,  Madison,   124-25 

Cayce,  327 

Cedar  Cove  Spring,  282 

Cedar  Hill   (Washington),  367 

Cemetery   Hill    (Springfield),  379 

Central  City,  358 

Central  Kentucky  State  Hospital 
(Lakeland),  349 

Central  Kentucky's  First  Post  Office 
(Danville),  286-87 

Central  Park   (Ashland),  143-44 

Central  Park   (Louisville),   192 

Centre  College  (Danville),  87,  285 

Centinel  of  the  N  orth-W  estern  Terri- 
tory, 251,  339 

Chambers,  John,  367 

Chartier,  Peter,  34 

Cheapside  Park  (Lexington),  206 

Cherokee  Indians,  38 

Cherokee  Park  (Lowisville),  195 

Chief  Paduke  Statue  (Paducah),  228 

Chiles,  Walter,  35 


474 


INDEX 


Chimney  Rock  (near  Bryantsville) ,  255 
Choir  Invisible,  The,  122,  374 
Christ  Church   (Lexington),  206 
Christ    Church    Cathedral    (Louisville), 

189 
Christian-Trigg   Farms,   Farm   Security 

Administration's,  320 
Church   of   the   Good   Shepherd    (Lex- 
ington), 201 

Churches   (by  denomination): 
All  denominations: 

Fee     Memorial     (Berea     College), 

269 
Baptist: 

Bethel  (Fairview),  384;  Bracken 
(Minerva),  333;  Crossings 
(Great  Crossings),  344;  Fork 
(near  Lancaster),  256;  Ghent, 
338;  New  Liberty,  343;  South 
Elkhorn  (near  Lexington),  375 
Catholic: 

Cathedral  of  the  Assumption 
(Louisville) ,  185 ;  Gethsemane 
Abbey  (near  New  Haven),  291; 
St.  Joseph's  (Bardstown),  381- 
82;  St.  Mary's  (Covington), 
152-54 
Christian: 

Cane  Ridge   (near  Paris),  372-73; 
Cynthiana,      134;      Macedonian 
(near  Lexington),  396 
Dutch    Reformed: 

Mud   Meeting    House    (near    Har- 

rodsburg),  378 
Episcopal: 

Christ  Church  Cathedral  (Louis- 
ville), 189;  Christ  Church  (Lex- 
ington), 206;  Church  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  (Lexington), 
201;  St.  Paul's  (Henderson),  409 
Methodist: 

Shannon   (near  Washington),  352; 
State    Street    (Bowling    Green), 
134;  Taylor  (Newport),  248 
Presbyterian: 

First  (Lexington),  204;  New  Prov- 
idence     (Salvisa),     283;     Paint 
Creek     (near    Lancaster),     257; 
Pisgah    (near    Lexington),    397; 
Pisgah    (near   Somerset),  260 
Churchill  Downs   (Louisville),  194 
Churchill  Weavers  (near  Berea),  270 
Cilley,  Jonathan,  347 
Cincinnati  Enquirer,  346 
Claiborne     Thoroughbred     Stud     Barn 

(near   Paris),   419-20 
Clark,  Gen.  George  Rogers,  38,  41,  169, 

170,   178-79,  422 
Clark  Memorial   (Harrodsburg),   172 


Clark  Memorial  Bridge  (near  Padu- 
cah),  412 

Clark  Memorial  Park  (Covington),  151 

Clark  (James  A.)  Mansion  (Winches- 
ter), 394 

Clark,  William,  223  [225 

Clark's    Landing,    Site    of    (Paducah), 

Clay,   Brig.   Gen.   Green,  267 

Clay,  Cassius  M.,  44,  267,  269 

Clay  City,  243 

Clay,  Henry,  41,  43,  296,  297 

Clay  Hill  (Harrodsburg),  174.  See  also 
Architecture 

Clay,  Peter,  414 

Clay's  Ferry,  266 

Claysville,  352 

Clayton  House   (Covington),  152 

Clear  Creek  Springs  (near  Pineville), 
277 

Clear  Lake  (near  Barlow),  412 

Clemens,  John  Marshall,  432-33 

Climate,  11 

Clinton,  326 

Clinton  Academy,  326 

Clore  House   (near   Crestwood),  348 

Cloverport,  404 

Coal  House  (Middlesboro),  277 

Coal  Mining,  434-35.  See  also  Manu- 
facturing and  Mining 

Cobb  Hotel  (Paducah),  226 

Cobb,  Irvin  S.,  225 

Cochran  House  (Maysville),  364 

Coke  House   ( Russell ville),  383 

Colby ville  Tavern  (near  Winchester), 
394 

Coldstream  Stud  (near  Lexington),  218 

College  Heights   (Bowling  Green),  307 

College  Square   (Louisville),  185-86 

Colonial,  see  Architecture 

Columbia,  432 

Columbus,  325 

Columbus-Belmont  Memorial  State 
Park  (Columbus),  325 

Confederate  Flag  Marker  (Paducah), 
226 

Confederate  Memorial  (Louisville),  193 

Connolly,  Dr.  John,  178 

Constance,  263 

Constitution  of  Kentucky,  48 

Convent  and  Academy  of  St.  Cather- 
ine of  Siena  (near  Springfield), 
379 

Coomes,  Mrs.  William,  83 

Cooper  Cave   (near  Mill  Springs),  442 

Copperas   Knob    (near  Albany),  445 

Corbin,   272,   275,   279 

Corn,  see  Agriculture 

Corn  Island,  39,  179 

Corner  of  Celebrities  (Frankfort),  164- 
65 


INDEX 


475 


Cornwell,  Dean,  119 

Cotton,  52,  328 

County  court  day  (London),  271 

Courier- Journal    (Louisville),    184.   See 

also  Press 
Courier -Journal    Building    (Louisville), 

189 

Courthouse   (Flemingsburg),  364 
Courthouse  Square  (Lexington),  206 
Covered  Bridge,  250,  352 
Covered  Wells  (Washington),  368 
COVINGTON,   147-56 
Covington  Public  Library,  152 
Covington  Waterworks,  249 
Cox's  Creek,  290 
Crab  Orchard,  259 
Craig,  Benjamin  I.,  338 
Craig,  Elijah,  83 
Craig  House  (near  Ghent),  339 
Craig  House  (Pewee  Valley),  348 
Craig,  Lewis,  256-58;  grave  of,  333 
Crawford,  Jane  Todd,  285-86 
Crawford       (Jane       Todd)       Library 

(Greensburg),  432 
Crestwood,  347 
Crittenden,  263-64 
Crittenden,   268 
Croghan,  Col.  George,  34 
Croghan,  Dr.  John,  310,  446 
Cropper,  398 
Cross  Keys  Tavern,  Site  of  (near  Shel- 

byville),  398 
Crossings    Church     (Great    Crossings), 

344 

Crowe's  Livery  Stable,  Site  of  (Louis- 
ville),  188-89 
Cumberland,  439 
Cumberland     College     ( Williamsburg) , 

273 

Cumberland  Falls,  279 
Cumberland  Falls  State  Park,  279 
Cumberland  Ford   (Pineville),  276 
Cumberland  Gap,  274,  278 
Cumberland  National  Forest,  280 
Curran,  Charles  Courtney,  119 
Custer,  Gen.  George,  300 
Cut-Shin  Creek,  430 
Cynthiana,  251 
Cynthiana,  Battle  of,  252 

Dade  Park,  315 

Daily  and  Weekly  Commonwealth,  106 

Daily  News,  225 

Dairy  cows,  see  Agriculture 

Danville,  40,  284-85 

Danville  Court  Square  (Danville),  285 

Dark-fire  tobacco   (Hopkinsville),  319- 

20 
Darling  House    (Carrollton),  339 


Daughters'  College  (Harrodsburg) ,  170- 
71 

Daviess,  Col.  Joseph  Hamilton,  406-407 

Davis  (D.  Y.)  House  (Bloomfield), 
355-56 

Davis,  Jefferson,  384 

Davis  Memorial  Park   (Fairview),  384 

Davisson,  Ananias,  92 

Dawson  Springs,  359-60 

Dawson  Springs  State  Park  (near  Daw- 
son  Springs),  360 

De  Blainville,  Sieur  Pierre  Joseph  Cel- 
eron, 36 

Democrat  (Louisville),  104 

De  Quindre,  39 

Derby,  The,  see  Kentucky  Derby 

Devil's  Jump  Creek,  90 

Devou  Park  (Covington),  155 

Diamond  Caverns,  305 

Diamond  Island  (near  Geneva),  409-10 

Diamond  Point  (Harrodsburg),  173. 
See  also  Architecture 

Dillard  House  (Hopkinsville),  320-21 

Disciples  of  Christ,  see  Religion 

Dishman  Springs  Hotel,  275 

Distilling,  see  Manufacturing 

"Divine   Elm"    (Boonesboro),  421 

Dix  Dam  (near  Shakertown),  171,  377 

Dixiana  Farm  (near  Lexington),  216 

Dixon,  317 

Doe  Run  Hotel  (near  Grahampton), 
402 

Doughboy  Monument  (Monticello), 
444 

Douglas  Homestead  (near  Middle- 
town),  400 

Downes  House  (Hopkinsville),  321 

Drake  family,  see  Theater 

Drake  House   (near  Nicholasville),  254 

Drake,  Samuel,  110-11 

Drawn,  Dolph,  426 

Drennon  Springs  (near  Gratz),  345 

Dry  Hill,  430 

Dry  Ridge,  264 

Duncan  Memorial  Chapel  (Floyds- 
burg),  348 

DuPont  Lodge  (Cumberland  Falls  State 
Park),  280 

Durrett,   Reuben  T.,   347 

Duveneck,  Frank,  119,  150;  birthplace, 
154 

Dwarf,  427 

Eagle  Creek  Covered  Bridge,  282 
Earlington,  319 
Earlington  Lake,  319 
East  Point,  240 

Eastern  Kentucky  State  Teachers'  Col- 
lege (Richmond),  267-68 


476  INDEX 

Eddyville,  361 

Edmonton,  433 

EDUCATION,  83-88 

Education  (Negro),  see  The  Negro 

"Educational  Legislature,"   87 

Elizabethtown,  298 

Elkhorn  City,  437 

Elkton,  383 

Ellerhusen,  Ulric,  120 

Ellis,  Capt.  William,  257-58 

Elmendorf  (near  Lexington),  215 

Elmwood  Hall  (Ludlow),  262 

Eminence,  345 

Enterprise  (steamboat),  180 

Eothan   (near  Lexington),  265-66.  See 

also  Architecture 
Episcopalians,  see  Religion 
Erlanger,  263 
Eskippakithiki,  34,  242-43 
Estill,  Capt.  James,  269 
Eubank,  260 
Eversole    Collection    of    Indian    Relics 

(Harlan),  441 

Executive  Mansion   (Frankfort),  162 
Ezekiel,  Moses  Jacob,  120 
Ewalt  House  (near  Paris),  253 

Fair  Oaks  (near  Harrodsburg) ,  284 

Fairneld   (near  Paris),  372 

Fairgrounds  (Harrodsburg),  173 

Fair  view,  384 

Fallam,  Robert,  35 

Falls  of  the  Ohio  River,  37-38,  40,  180 

Falmouth,  250-51 

Faraway  Farm    (near  Lexington),  216 

Farm   Security   Administration's   Chris- 

tian-Trigg  Farms,  320 
Farmers,  391 
Farmer's  Library,  184 
Farmington   (near  Louisville),  289 
Fauna,  see  Animal  Life 
Federal    Building    (Paducah),    226 
Federal     Hill,     "My     Old     Kentucky 

Home"    (near   Bardstown),  379- 

80.  See  also  Architecture 
Federal  style,  see  Architecture 
Fee  Memorial  Church  (Berea  College), 

269 

"Female"  academies,  84 
Fern  Lake,  277-78 
Feme  Fleming,  349 
Ferry  House  (Constance),  263 
Feuds,   426,   428 
Ficklin  House   (Lexington),  202 
Filson   Club    (Louisville),   191 
Filson,  John,  83 
Fincastle  County,  39 
Finkr  Mike,  337 
Finley,  John,  37 


Fire    Observatory    (near    Pine    Moun- 
tain), 438 

First  Christmas  party  (Louisville),  179 

First  city  charter  (Louisville),  181 

First  Kentucky  Almanac,  103 

First  Kentucky  Derby,  95-96 

First   Kentucky   Post  Office    (Washing- 
ton), 367 

First  Lake  (near  Wickliffe),  413 

First  Maysville  Theater,  363 

First  oil  wells   (near  Burkesville),  446 

First  Presbyterian  Church  (Lexington), 
204 

First  school   (Harrodsburg),  83,   170 

First    schoolhouse    (Harrodsburg),    172 

First  wedding  ceremony   (Boonesboro), 
421 

Fish  Lake  (near  Barlow),  412 

Fishtrap   (near  Paintsville),  415 

Fitch,  John,  381;  grave,  381 

Fitch  Monument   (Bardstown),  381 

Flaget,    Benedict    Joseph,    first    bishop, 
80,  291 

Flat  Lick,  276 

Fleming  House    (Flemingsburg),  364 

Fleming,  John,  364 

Flemingsburg,  364 

Flora,  see  Plant  Life 

Florence,  263 

Flournoy  House  (near  Princeton),  360 

Flower's  Cave  (near  Albany),  445 

Floyd,  Col.  John,  264 

Floyd  Collins  Crystal  Cave,  314-15 

Floydsburg,  347-48 

Fluorspar,  see  Manufacturing  and  Min- 
ing 

FOLKLORE  AND  FOLK  Music,  89-93 

Ford  Mansion  (Louisville),  190-91 

Ford's  Ferry   (near  Marion),  411 

Forest  Retreat   (near  Millersburg) ,  370 

Forests,  see  Plant  Life 

Fork  Church   (near  Lancaster),  256 

Forks  of  Elkhorn,  418 

Forrest,  Gen.  Nathan,  223-24 

Fort    Anderson    Site    (Paducah),    224, 
226 

Fort   Bayou   De   Chien  Mounds    (near 
Hickman),  327 

Fort  Boonesboro,  Site  of,  274 

Fort  Knox,  46,  297 

Fort   Mitchell,   263 

Fort  Mitchell  Country  Club,  263 

Fort  Nelson,  179 

Fort    Nelson    Monument    (Louisville), 
186 

Fort  Thomas,  249 

Fort     Thomas     Military     Reservation, 
249-50 

Fowler  Home  (Paducah),  228 

Fox,  Fontaine,  120-21 


INDEX 


477 


Fox  hunting,  266 

Fox,  John,  Jr.,  268,  420,  438.  See  also 

Literature 

Fox   Spring    (near   Flemingsburg) ,   365 
FRANKFORT,  157-67 

Frankfort    Cemetery    (Frankfort),    165 
Franklin,  308 

Franklin   Academy    (Washington),   368 
Frazee  Hall  (University  of  Kentucky), 

208-209 

Frazee  House  (near  Germantown),  333 
Frazer,   Oliver,   119,   266 
Freedmen's  Guild,  74 
Freese  House   (Louisa),  236-37 
French  and  Indian  War,  36 
French  conspiracy,  41 
French-Eversole    feud,    245.    See    also 

Feuds 

French  Garden,  316 
French  Norman  Inn,  316 
Frenchburg,  417 
Frontier  Nursing  Service,  429 ;  hospital 

(near  Hyden),  428 
Frozen  Mountain,  244 
Fullerton,  34,  234 
Fulton,  324 

Gaitskill  Farm   (near  Paris),  420 

Gallatin  County  Courthouse  (Warsaw), 
336 

Gait  House,  181 

Gap  of  the  Ridge  Battlefield,  443 

Garfield's  Headquarters  (Prestonsburg), 
240 

Garrard,  430 

Garrard  County  Courthouse,  256-57 

Garrett,  425 

Gatliffe  Fish  Hatchery,  272-73 

Geddes,  308-309 

Genet,  Charles  Edmund,  41 

GEOLOGY  AND  PALEONTOLOGY,  24-27 

Georgetown,  264 

Georgetown  College,  87,  265 

Georgian  Colonial,  see  Architecture 

Germantown,  333 

Ghent,  337 

Giddings  Hall  (Georgetown  College), 
265 

Gilbert's  Creek  Meeting  House,  Site  of, 
257-58 

Gist,  Christopher,  36,  158 

Glasgow,  294-95 

Glasgow  Junction,  304 

Glen  Artney  (near  Nugents'  Cross- 
roads), 354 

Glen  Lily    (near   Bonnieville),  301-302 

Glendower  or  Preston  Place  (Lexing- 
ton), 202 

Goddard,  E.  F.,   119 

Goebel  Park  (Covington),  155 


Goebel,  William,  46,  150,  360 

Goforth,  Dr.  William,  335 

Gold  Bullion  Depository  (Fort  Knox), 
297 

Gordon  Greene   (steamboat),   139,   181 

Gorin,  Frank,  310 

Gorin,  Maj.  John,  295 

Goslee  House  (Anchorage),  349 

Gothic  Revival,  see  Architecture 

Government  Lock  No.  29  (Ashland), 
146 

Government   reorganization,   47-48 

Graham  Springs  (Harrodsburg),  170, 
173 

Grahampton  Textile  Mill,  402 

Grange,  The  (near  Paris),  371.  See 
also  Architecture 

Grant,  Gen.  Ulysses  S.,  325-26,  363-64 

Grant  Marker  (Paducah),  225-26 

Grant's  Lick,  250 

Gratz,  344 

Gratz  House  (Lexington),  204-205.  See 
also  Architecture 

"Grave  houses,"   241 

Grave  of  an  Unknown  Confederate  Sol- 
dier (Munfordville),  303 

Graves-Cilley  duel,  347 

Graves  Homestead  (near  Winchester), 
395 

Graves  House  (New  Castle),  347 

Graves,  William  Jordan,  347 

Gray,  Col.  John  T.,  112 

Grayson,  389 

Grayson  House    (Louisville),   185 

Grayson  Springs   (near  Clarkson),  356 

Greasy  Creek  Woolen  Mill  (near 
Jamestown),  288 

Great  Crossings,  343-44 

Great  Meadow,  123 

Great  Onyx  Cave,  314 

Great   Revival,  372.  See  also  Religion 

Great  Saltpeter  Caves  (near  Living- 
ston), 271 

Greek  Revival,  see  Architecture 

Green  County  Courthouse  (Greens- 
burg),  432 

Green,  Duff,  299 

Green  River,  294,  357,  407-408 

Greensburg,  432 

Greentree  (near  Lexington),  215 

Greenup,  234 

Greenville,  358-59 

Greenville  College,  359 

Gregory   Place    (near   Henderson),  409 

Griffith,  David  Wark,  347 

Griffith  House   (LaGrange),  347 

Griffith  House   (Owensboro),  407 

Grimes,  John,  119 

Grist  and  Flour  Mill  (Zula),  445 

Guardian  of  Liberty,  252 


478  INDEX 

Guerrilla  warfare,  45 

Guignol  Theater  (Lexington),  115 

Guthrie,  321 

Guthrie,  James,  104 

Guyandotte   (boat),  332 

Gwathmey,  John,  185 

Haggin,  James  G.,  215 

Haldeman,  Walter  N.,  104-105,  189,  348 

Halfway  House  (Dixon),  317-18 

Halfway  Inn  (near  Perryville),  378 

Hall's  Gap,  260 

Hamburg  Place  (near  Lexington),  210- 
12 

Hamilton,  Governor,  39 

Handy  (boat),  333 

Hanks,  Nancy,  293,  299 

Hardin  House  (Bardstown),  382 

Hardin  County  Courthouse,  300 

Harding,  Chester,  118 

Hardinsburg,  403-404 

Harlan,  441 

Harlan  County  Fall  Festival  (Harlan), 
441 

Harmon's  Station,  Site  of,  240 

Harpe,  Micajah  ("Big  Harpe"),  316-17 

Harpe,  Wiley  ("Little  Harpe"),  316-17 

Harpe's  Head  Road,  316 

Harrison  County  Courthouse,  251 

Harrod,  James,  38,  168-69 

HARRODSBURG,  168-74 

Hart  Home  (Lexington),  204 

Hart,  Joel  T.,  118 

Hartford,  357 

Hatcher  Hotel,  241-42 

Hatfield-McCoy  feud,  434.  See  also 
Feuds 

Hawes,  Richard  J.,  161 

Hawesville,  405 

Hay,  see  Agriculture 

Hay  craft,  Samuel,  298 

Haylands  (near  Lexington),  374 

Hay  market   (Louisville),  190 

Hays  House  (near  Eminence),  345 

Hazard,  245 

He  Sent  Forth  a  Raven,  123 

Head  o'  W -Hollow,  124 

Hell-fer-Sartain  Creek,  90,  430 

Helm,  Capt.  Thomas,  298 

Helm,   Gen.   Ben   Hardin,   299-300 

Helm,  John  L.,  299-300 

Hemp,  199.  See  also  Agriculture 

Hemp  Mills  (Frankfort),  167.  See  also 
Manufacturing 

Henderson,  408 

Henderson,  Col.  Richard,  38,  274,  422 

Henderson  County  Courthouse  (Hen- 
derson), 408 

Henderson-Evansville  Bridge,  315 

Henderson  Settlement  School,  278 


Henry  County  Male  and  Female  Col- 
lege (New  Castle),  345,  346 

Henry,  Gov.  Patrick,  39 

Hensley,  Peter  Lee,  392 

Herr  House  (near  Lyndon),  350-51 

Herrington  Lake  (near  Shakertown), 
255,  377 

Hickman,  328 

Hickman  House  (Winchester),  394 

High  Bridge  State  Park  (near  Wil- 
more),  375 

Highways,  see  Transportation 

Hindman,  426 

Hindman  Mountain,  426 

Hindman  Settlement  School  (Hind- 
man), 427 

Hines,  Captain,  346 

Hines  Cave  (near  Mill  Springs),  442 

HISTORY,  35-49 

Kite  House  (Lakeland),  349 

Hoagland  House  (near  Carrollton), 
339 

Hobson,  Gen.  E.  H.,  252 

Hodgenville,  292 

Hodges,  Albert  Gallatin,  106 

Hoe,  Rice,  35 

Hogg  Cave  (near  Mill  Springs),  442 

Hominy  holes,  see  Archeology  and  In- 
dians 

Hopemont    (Lexington),   204 

Hopkins,  Gen.  Samuel,  Grave  of  (near 
Henderson),  409 

Hopkinsville,  319-20 

Hornet    (steamboat),  332 

Horse  Cave,  303 

Horse  farms,  210-20.  See  also  Kentucky 
Thoroughbreds 

Horse  racing,  177 

Horses,  see  Kentucky  Thoroughbreds 

Houston,  George  S.,  171 

Hunter   House    (near   Vanceburg),   332 

Hunters'  Pond   (near  Wickliffe),  413 

Hurt  House  (Columbia),  432 

Hurricane  Hall  (near  Georgetown),  265 

Hustonville,  287 

Hutchins,  Dr.  William  James,  269 

Hyden,  428 

Hynes,  Col.  Andrew,  298 

Idle  Hour  Farm  (near  Lexington),  220 
Illinois   Central   Shops    (Paducah),   228 
Illiteracy,  see  Education 
Indian    Cave    (near    Jamestown),    288 
Indian    Fort    Mountain    (near    Berea), 

270 

Indian  Lake,  405 
Indian  Mound  (Pineville),  276 
Indian  Old  Fields,  242-43 
Indian   Rock   Shelters    (Pineville),   276 


INDEX 


479 


Indian  Valley  Farm  (near  Geneva), 
409 

INDIANS,  see  Archeology  and  Indians 

Industrial  development  (Louisville), 
184 

Inez,  414 

Inglis,  Mrs.  Mary,  36-37,  331 

Inland  Waterways  Corporation  Ship- 
yards (Paducah),  226 

Innes  House,  282 

Iron  industry,  234-35 

Iroquois  Amphitheater  (Louisville), 
116 

Iroquois  Hunt  and  Polo  Club  (Lexing- 
ton), 213 

Iroquois  Park  (Louisville),  195 

Irvineton   (Richmond),  268 

Irvington,  403 

luka,  362 

Jackson,  244 

Jackson,  Aunt  Molly,  440 

Jackson  Purchase,  322.  See  also  Natu- 
ral Setting 

James  Bethel  Gresham  Memorial 
Bridge  (Rumsey),  358 

James,  Jesse,  358 

Jamestown,  287-88 

Jaubert,  Gus,  354 

Jefferson  County  Courthouse  (Louis- 
ville), 186.  See  also  Architecture 

Jefferson  Davis  Monument  (Fairview), 
384 

Jeffery  Cliff,  404-405 

Jellico,   273 

Jellico  Mountains  (near  Williamsburg) , 
273 

Jenkins,  437 

Jenkins,  William,  317-18 

Jennie  Casseday  Rest  Cottage  (near 
Pewee  Valley),  348-49 

Jenny's  Knob,  288,  445 

Jeptha  Knob,  398 

Jesuit  Relations,  33 

Jews,  see  Religion 

Jingling  in  the  Wind,  123 

Joe  Blackburn  Bridge,  355 

Johnson,  Col.  Richard  M.,  42,  343 

Johnson,  Joseph,  35 

Johnston,  Albert  Sidney,  368 

Johnston,  Annie  Fellows,  348.  See  also 
Literature 

Johnston  House  (Washington),  368 

Jones  (Casey)  Monument  (near  Clin- 
ton), 327 

Jones,  John  Gabriel,  38,   169,  422 

Jouett,  Matthew  H.,  117 

Journal  (Louisville),  103,  184 

Juniper  Hill  (near  Frankfort),  397 


Kaskaskia,  39 

Kavanaugh,  Bishop  H.  H.,  251-52 

Keeneland  Race  Course  (near  Lexing- 
ton), 219,  397 

Kelley-Koett  Manufacturing  Plant 
(Covington),  155 

Kelly,  William,  361 

Kelly's  Iron  Furnace  (near  Kuttawa), 
361 

Kennedy  House,  Site  of  the,  257 

Kentenia  State  Forest  (near  Dillon), 
439 

Kenton,  Simon,  365-66 

Kenton  Tobacco  Warehouse  (Coving- 
ton),  155-56 

Kenton's  Station,  365 

Kentontown,  352 

KENTUCKIANS,  3-6 

Kentucky  Academy,  84-85 

Kentucky  admitted  as  a  State,  40 

Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, 55 

Kentucky  boatmen,  57 

Kentucky  Cardinal,  122 

Kentucky  Children's  Home  (near  Lyn- 
don), 350 

"Kentucky   Comedians,"   112 

Kentucky  County,  39,  170 

Kentucky  Deaf  Institute  (Danville), 
286 

Kentucky  Derby  (Louisville),  100-101, 
194-95 

Kentucky  Educational  Society,  85-86 

Kentucky  Gazette,  94,  110,  199.  See 
also  Press 

Kentucky  Harmonist,  The,  92 

Kentucky  Harmony,  92 

Kentucky  Herald,  103 

Kentucky  in  American  Letters,  268 

Kentucky  Journal,   103 

Kentucky  Library  of  Folklore,  307 

"Kentucky  marble,"  159 

Kentucky  Military  Institute  (near  Lyn- 
don), 350 

Kentucky  Mirror,  103 

Kentucky  Reporter,  105-106 

Kentucky   River,   266,  339 

Kentucky  School  for  the  Blind  (Louis- 
ville), 193.  See  also  Architecture 

Kentucky  State  Fair,  177,  192 

Kentucky  State  Industrial  College  at 
Frankfort,  74 

Kentucky  Tavern  (near  Bedford),  340 

Kentucky-Tennessee  Clay  Company 
Mine  (near  May  field),  323 

KENTUCKY   THOROUGHBREDS,    94-101 

Kentucky -Virginia  boundary,  237 

Kentucky  Wesleyan  College  (Winches- 
ter), 87,  394 


480  INDEX 


Kentucky  Woodlands  Wildlife  Refuge, 

385 

Kentucky's  first  constitution,  40-41 
Kevil,   412 
Kilgore,  389 

"King  Solomon  of  Kentucky,"   122 
King  Solomon's  Cave,  279 
King,  Wyncie,  120-21 
King's  Mill  (Williamsburg),  273 
Kingswood     Christian     College     (near 

Earned),  403 

Kinniconnick  (near  Vanceburg),  332 
Knight  House   (Hopkinsville),  320 
Knight  of  the  Cumberland^,  438 
Knob  Creek  Farm,  Site  of  the,  292 
Knobs,  see  Natural  Setting 
Kosmosdale,  400 
Kuttawa,  361 
Kuttawa   Mineral   Springs   Park    (near 

Kuttawa),  361-62 

LABOR,  66-71: 

Industrial  centers,  66;  unionism,  67- 
69;  disputes,  68;  laws,  69 

La    Chaumiere   du   Prairie    (near   Lex- 
ington), 3  75 

Lafayette,  General,  342 

LaGrange,  347 

Lakeland,  349 

Lambdin,  James  Reid,  119 

Lambert  House   (Henderson),  409 

Lampton,  Benjamin,  432 

Lancaster,  256 

Landmark  (Bromley),  263 

Langford  House  (near  Mount  Vernon), 
270 

Langstaff  Home  (Paducah),  228 

Latonia  Race  Track   (Covington),   154 

Laurel    Cave     (Pine    Mountain    State 
Park),  277 

Law   Office   of   Samuel   F.   Miller   and 
Silas  Woodson,  275 

Lawrence  Leather  Belting  Plant  (Ash- 
land), 144 

Lawrenceburg,  355 

Lawton,  Gen.  Henry  W.,  348 

Leafland  (near  Lexington),  395-96 

Lederer,  John,  35 

Lee,  John  G.,  269 

Lee,  Ann,  375-76.  See  also  Religion 

Leeper,  Capt.  John,  317 

Lee's  Junior  College  (Jackson),  244 

Leitchfield,  356 

Letcher  House   (Lancaster),  257 

Letcher,  Robert  P.,  257 

Levi   Jackson    Wilderness   Road   State 
Park,  272 

Levisa  Fork,  237 

Lewis  Cave,  279 


Lewis  (Henry  C.)  House  (Greenville), 
359 

Lewis  Hunter  Distillery,  253 

Lewis,  Lucy- Jefferson,  Grave  of  (near 
Smithland),  411 

Lewis  (Lucy  Jefferson)  Memorial 
Bridge  (near  Smithland),  411 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  315 

LEXINGTON,  197-220 

Lexington  and  Ohio  Railroad,  199 

Lexington    Cemetery    (Lexington),    202 

Lexington  Country  Clubhouse,  374 

Lexington  Herald,  106 

Lexington  Leader,  106 

"Lexington's  Westminster  Abbey,"  209 

Liberty,  287 

Liberty  Hall  (Frankfort),  129,  164-65. 
See  also  Architecture 

Libraries: 

Covington  Public,  152;  Filson  Club 
(Louisville),  191;  Jane  Todd 
Crawford  (Greensburg),  432; 
John  Wilson  Townsend  (Rich- 
mond), 268;  Kentucky  Library 
of  Folklore  (Bowling  Green), 
307;  Lexington  Public,  206; 
Louisville  Free  Public,  191; 
Maysville  Public,  363;  Univer- 
sity of  Kentucky  (Lexington), 
208-209 

Library  (Lexington),  205-206 

Library  (University  of  Kentucky),  208- 
209 

Licking  River,  250 

Limestone  (now  Maysville),  363 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  44,  299,  405-406; 
birthplace,  293;  memorial,  292; 
statues  of,  by  A.  A.  Weinman, 
162,  292;  statue  of,  by  George 
Gray  Barnard,  191 

Lincoln  County  Courthouse  (Stan- 
ford), 258 

Lincoln  Homestead  Park  (near  Spring- 
field), 379 

Lincoln  Institute  (near  Simpsonville) , 
399 

Lincoln  Marriage  Temple  (Harrods- 
burg),  172 

Lincoln  Memorial   National  Park,   292 

Lincoln,  Thomas,  293,  298-99 

Lincraft  Farm  (near  Simpsonville),  399 

Linden  Grove  Cemetery  (Covington), 
154 

Lindsey  Wilson  Junior  College  (Co- 
lumbia), 432 

Linney,  William  Marcus,  171 

LITERATURE,  121-25 

Little  Colonel  stories,  348 

Little  Eagle  Falls,  280 


Little  Shepherd  of  Kingdom  Come,  123, 
438 

Little   theater   movement,   see   Theater 

Livermore,  358 

Livingston,  271 

Llangollen  (near  Lexington),  213 

Lloyd,  John  Uri,  263 

Lloyd  Reservation  (Crittenden),  263- 
64 

Lockett  House   (Henderson),  408 

Logan,  Colonel  Benjamin,  258-59,  274 

London,  271 

Long,  Frank,  120 

"Long   hunters,"   37,   443 

Long  Pond   (near  Wickliffe),  413 

Long  Run  Baptist  Church  (near  Simp- 
sonville),  399 

Lookout  Point  (near  Cumberland 
Falls),  279 

Lookout  Point  (Butler  Memorial  State 
Park),  342 

Lookout  Point  (Milton  Hill),  340 

Looney,  J.  T.,  354 

Loose-leaf  tobacco  markets  (Madison- 
ville),  319 

Loose-Leaf  Tobacco  Sales  Floors  (Pa- 
ducah),  228 

Loretto  Convent  and  Academy,  291-92 

Lost  River  Cave,  307-308 

Loudoun  (Lexington),  209.  See  also 
Architecture 

Louisa,  236 

Louisiana  Purchase,  see  History 

LOUISVILLE,  175-96 

Louisville  and  Portland  Canal,  180-81, 
186-88 

Louisville  Hotel,  181 

Louisville  Municipal  College  for  Ne- 
groes, 74,  87 

Louisville -Nashville  stagecoach  road, 
296 

Lover's  Leap  (Hawesville),  405 

Lower  Blue  Licks,  39 

Lower  Shawneetown,  34 

Lower  Town,  Site  of  (South  Ports- 
mouth), 330 

Loyal  Land  Company,  36 

Ludlow,  262 

Ludlow,  N.  M.,  see  Theater 

Lumber  mills,  see  Manufacturing 

Lusby's  Mill  (near  Owenton),  343 

Lynch,  439 

Lyndon,  350 

Lythe,  Reverend  John,  77-78 

McAfee,  283 

McAfee  brothers,  37-38,   168-69 

McAfee  (James)  House  (near  McAfee), 

283 
McAfee,  Robert,  158 


INDEX  481 

McAfee  (Samuel)  House  (Salvisa),  283 

McAfee  Station,  283 

McClelland,  John,  264 

McCormick  Seed  Harvester  Works 
(near  Winchester),  395 

McCracken  County  Courthouse  (Pa- 
ducah),  226 

McDowell,  Dr.  Ephraim,  285 

McDowell  House   (Danville),  285 

McDowell  Park  (Danville),  286 

McDowell,  Samuel,  285 

McGary  (Daniel)  House  (Madison- 
ville),  319 

McGill,  Josephine,  184.  See  also  Folk- 
lore and  Folk  Music 

McGready,  James,  78 

McGuffey,  William  Holmes,  372 

McKinley's  Blockhouse,  Site  of  (near 
Washington),  352 

McKinney,  John,  83 

McLeod's  Bluffs  Mounds  (near  Hick- 
man),  327-28 

McMurdy  School  (Washington),  368 

McMurtrie,  Dr.  H.,  112 

McMurtry,  John,  202 

Macauley,  Barney,  114 
Macauley,  Col.  John  T.,  114-15 
Macauley 's  Theater,   114-15 
Macedonian    Christian    Church     (near 

Lexington),  396 
Maceo,  406 
Madison ville,  319 

Madison  County  Courthouse  (Rich- 
mond), 267 

Madison,  Susan,  Grave  of,  305 
Magoffin,  Beriah,   171 
Magruder,  Mary  Lanier,  412 
Mammoth  Cave  National  Park,  309 
Mammoth  Cave,  309-10 
Mammoth  Onyx  Cave,  303 
Mann,  Ambrose  Dudley,  251-52 
Man  o'  War  (Faraway  Farm,  near  Lex- 
ington), 216 

Man  with  a  Bull-Tongue  Plow,  124 
Manchester,  430 
Mansfield,  see  Architecture 
Mansion   Museum    (Harrodsburg),   173 
MANUFACTURING  AND  MINING,  60-65: 
Distilling,  61-63;  hemp  industry,  61- 
62;  lumber,  62;  mineral  produc- 
tion,   64;    coal,    64;    petroleum, 
65;  fluorspar,  65 

Maplewood   Cemetery    (Mayfield),  323 
Margaret  Hall  (Versailles),  397 
Marine  Hospital    (Louisville),   120 
Marine  Ways  (Paducah),  226 
Marion,  410 

Marrowbone  Valley  (near  Burkesville), 
446 


482  INDEX 


Marshall,  Col.  Thomas,  367 

Marshall  House   (Washington),  367 

Marshall,  Humphrey,   158 

Marshall  Key  Place  (Washington),  367 

Marshall,  Mary,  Grave  of  (Washing- 
ton), 367-68 

Marshall,  Thomas,  Jr.,  367 

Martin,  Boyd,  115-16 

Martin,  Mrs.  George  Madden,  184.  See 
also  Literature 

Mary  Inglis  Trail,  329 

Mary  Todd  Lincoln  Home  (Lexing- 
ton), 202-204 

Mason  County  Courthouse  (Mays- 
ville),  363 

Masonic  Lodge  Hall   (Ludlow),  262 

Maupin,  Gen.  George  Washington,  267 

Maxwell  Place  (University  of  Ken- 
tucky), 208-209 

Mayer,  Henrick  M.,  120 

Mayfield,  322-23 

Mays  Lick,  368-69 

Maysville,  40,  363 

Maysville  Country  Club,  365 

Meade  County  Courthouse  (near  Bran- 
denburg), 403 

Meat  packing,  see  Manufacturing 

Medical  School  (Louisville),  190 

Medium  Security  Prison  (near  La- 
Grange),  347 

Memorial  Auditorium  (Louisville),  192 

Memorial  Hall  (University  of  Ken- 
tucky), 208-209 

Memorial  Square  (Somerset),  260 

Merry  Oaks,  433 

Messenger,  106 

Metcalf  Houses  (near  Kentontown), 
352 

Metcalf,  Samuel  Lytler,  92 

Metcalfe,  Thomas,  370,  432 

Methodists,  see  Religion 

Meyenberg,  John  Carlisle,  120 

Middle  Creek,  Battle  of,  240-41 

Middlesboro,  277 

Middlesboro  Country  Club,  278 

Middletown,  399 

Middletown  Inn,  399 

Midway,  353 

Mill  Creek  Cemetery,  298 

Mill  Springs,  442.  See  also  History 

Mill  Springs,  Battle  of,  442 

Millersburg,  370 

Millersburg  Military   Institute,  370 

Mills,  James,  328 

Mills  Point   (Hickman),  328 

Milton,  339 

Mineral  production,  see  Manufacturing 
and  Mining 

Mineral  Well    (Franklin),   308 

Minerva,  333 


MINING,  see  Manufacturing  and  Mining 

Minor  House    (Bloomfield),  356 

Minor  Lake  (near  Wickliffe),  413 

Monte  Casino   (Covington),  155 

Monterey,  282 

Monticello,  444 

Monticello  Park   (Monticello),  444 

Moonbow  Inn  (Cumberland  Falls  Na- 
tional Park),  280 

"Moonlight  schools,"  87 

Moore,  George,  306 

Moore,  Reverend  James,  265-66 

Moore,  Robert,  306 

Morehead,  390 

Morehead   State  Teachers  College,  390 

Morgan,  Gen.  John  H.,  204,  252,  298, 
346;  statue  of  (Lexington),  206 

Morgan  Row  (Harrodsburg),  173 

Morganfield,  410 

Morning  Courier  and  American  Demo- 
crat, 184.  See  also  Press 

Morris  (Robert)  House  (LaGrange), 
347 

Morrison  College  (Lexington),  205.  See 
also  Architecture 

Morton,  David,  184 

Morton  (Thomas)  House  (Morton's 
Gap),  319 

Morton  (William)  Home  (Lexington), 
209 

Morton's  Gap,  319 

Mother  of  God  Cemetery  (Covington), 
155 

Mound  builders,  see  Archeology  and 
Indians 

Mount  Lebanon   (near  Paris),  372 

Mount  Olivet,  352 

Mount  Saint  Joseph  (near  Owensboro), 
407 

Mount  Savage   (near  Grayson),  389 

Mount  Sterling,  392 

Mount  Vernon,  270 

Mount  Washington,  290 

Mount  Zion  Church  (near  Richmond), 
269 

Mountain  ballads,  439.  See  also  Folk- 
lore and  Folk  Music 

Mountain  Laurel  Festival,  277 

Mountain  people:  customs,  music,  dia- 
lect, religion,  homes,  238-39, 
424,  438 

Mountains,  see  Natural  Setting 

Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch,  124 

Mt.  Brilliant  (near  Lexington),  216 

Mud  Meeting  House  (near  Harrods- 
burg), 378 

Muhlenberg,  John  Peter  Gabriel,  358- 
59 

Muldraugh,  401 


INDEX 


483 


Muldrow  House  (near  Versailles),  354- 
55.  See  also  Architecture 

Mule  Day  (Mayfield),  323 

Mule  Trading  Day  (Murray),  386 

Mules,  see  Agriculture 

Munford  Inn    (Munfordville),  302 

Munfordville,  44-45,  302 

Munfordville,   Battle  of,  302.  See  also 
History 

Municipal  Bridge  (Louisville),  188 

Municipal  Museum   (Louisville),  191 

Murray,  385 

Murray,  David  R.,  404 

Murray  State  Teachers'  College  (Mur- 
ray), 385 

Museums: 

Audubon  (near  Henderson),  316; 
Baker  Hunt  Foundation  (Cov- 
ington),  152;  Filson  Club 
(Louisville),  191;  Mansion 
(Harrodsburg),  173;  Municipal 
(Louisville),  191;  Rush  (Lexing- 
ton), 205-206;  Speed  Memorial 
(Louisville),  194;  Williams'  Nat- 
ural History  (Covington),  152 

Music,  see  Folklore  and  Folk  Music 

"My    Old    Kentucky    Home,"    Federal 
Hill  (near  Bardstown),  379-80 

Nancy  Hanks  Horse  Graveyard   (near 
Lexington),  212 

Narrows  (near  Livingston),  271 

Narrows  (Pineville),  276 

Nation,  Mrs.  Carry,  256,  354 

National     Band     and     Tag     Company 
Plant,  248 

National    Cemetery    (near    Somerset), 
431 

Natural  Bridge  State  Park,  243 

NATURAL  SETTING,  7-27 

Nazareth  Junior  College  and  Academy 
(near   Bardstown),   290,  380 

Needham,  James,  35 

NEGRO,  72-76: 

Slavery,  72 ;  population,  73 ;  occupa- 
tions, 73;  education,  74;  religion, 
75 

Negro  spirituals,  92 

Nerincx,  Reverend  Charles,  291-92 

New  Capitol  (Frankfort),  161-62 

New  Castle,  346 

News  Democrat,  225 

New  Haven,  290-91 

New  Liberty,  342-43 

New  Madrid  earthquake,  180 

New  Orleans  (steamboat),  42,  180 

New    Providence    Presbyterian    Church 
(Salvisa),  283 

New  Student  Union  Building  (Univer- 
sity of  Kentucky),  208-209 


Newport,  246 

Newport  Academy,  247 

Newport  City  Park,  248 

Nicholasville,  254 

Niehaus,  Charles  N.,  120 

"Night-riders,"   46 

Nolin  River,  357 

North     American     Refractories     Plant 

(Ashland),  143 
North  Middletown,  417 
Nugents'   Crossroads,  353 

Oaklands  (Paducah),  229 

Obenchain,  Mrs.  Eliza  Calvert  Hall,  307 

Observation  Tower   (near  Dillon),  439 

Occupations  (Negro),  see  The  Negro 

Odd  Fellows  and  Daughters  of  Rebek- 
ah  House  (Eminence),  345 

O.F.C.  Distillery   (Frankfort),   167 

Ohio  River,  178,  332,  333,  337;  flood 
of  1937,  106,  161,  224-25 

Oil  Springs,  243,  415 

Old   Bank   of   Louisville   Building,   186 

Old  Brazelton  Home  (Paducah),  226 

Old  Capitol  (Frankfort),  162.  See  also 
Architecture 

Old  Cato,  179 

Old  Covered  Bridge  (near  Cynthiana), 
352 

Old-fashioned  barbecue,  353 

Old   Fort   Harrod    (Harrodsburg),    172 

Old  Fort  Jefferson,  Site  of  (Wickliffe), 
325 

Old  Fortifications   (Munfordville),  302 

Old  Judge  Priest,  225 

Old  Keene  Place  (near  Lexington),  397 

Old  log  house   (Cynthiana),  251-52 

Old  Mulkey  Meeting  House  State  Park 
(near  Tompkinsville),  447 

Old  Shaker  Inn  (South  Union),  383 

Old  Southern  Harmony  Singing  (Ben- 
ton),  386 

Old  Stone  Inn  (near  Shelby ville ),  398- 
99 

Old  Tavern  (Nugents'  Crossroads),  353 

Olive  Hill,  390 

Olympian  Springs  (near  Owingsville), 
392 

One-Sucker  Tobacco  Market  (Frank- 
lin), 308 

Ormsby  Village  (near  Lakeland),  349- 
50 

"Orphan  Brigade,"  299-300 

Ottenheim,   259-60 

Otter  Creek,  269 

Otter  Creek  Mill  (near  Muldraugh), 
401 

Otter  Creek  Recreational  Demonstra- 
tion Area  (near  Muldraugh),  401 

Outwood,  360 


484  INDEX 

Owen  County  Courthouse,  343 

Owenton,  282,  343 

Owens  Collection,  275 

Owensboro,  406-407 

Owings,  Col.  Thomas  Dye,  391 

Owings  House  ( Owings ville),  391 

Owingsville,  391 

Owsley  House  (near  Lancaster),  258 

Owsley,  William,  258 

PADUCAH,  221-29 

Paducah,  Battle  of,  224 

Paint  Creek,  239 

Paint  Creek  Presbyterian  Church,  257 

Paint  Lick,  257 

PAINTING  AND  SCULPTURE,  116-21 

Paintsville,  239 

Palladium,  103 

Paris,  371 

Park  Lake  (near  Flemingsburg) ,  365 

Parker's  Lake,  261 

Parks: 

Audubon  Memorial  State  (near  Hen- 
derson), 316;  Bartlett-Rhodes 
(Middlesboro),  277;  Blue  and 
Gray  State  (near  Elkton),  383- 
84;  Blue  Licks  Battlefield  State 
(near  Millersburg) ,  369;  Butler 
Memorial  State  (near  Carroll- 
ton),  341;  Central  (Ashland), 
143-44;  Central  (Louisville), 
192;  Cherokee  (Louisville),  195; 
Columbus-Belmont  State  (near 
Columbus),  325;  Cumberland 
Falls  State  (near  Corbin),  279; 
Davis  Memorial  State  (near 
Elkton),  384;  Dawson  Springs 
State,  360;  Devou  (Covington), 
155;  Dr.  Thomas  Walker  State 
(near  Barbour ville),  275;  George 
Rogers  Clark  Memorial  (Coving- 
ton),  151;  Goebel  (Covington), 
155;  High  Bridge  State  (near 
Nicholasville) ,  375;  Iroquois 
(Louisville),  195;  Levi  Jackson 
Wilderness  Road  State  (near 
London),  272;  Lincoln  Memo- 
rial National  (near  Hodgen ville), 
292;  Mammoth  Cave  National 
(near  Cave  City),  309;  Natural 
Bridge  State  (near  Slade),  243; 
Old  Mulkey  Meeting  House 
(near  Tompkins  ville),  447;  Pine 
Mountain  State  (near  Pine  ville), 
276;  Pioneer  Memorial  State 
(Harrodsburg),  171;  Seneca 
(Louisville),  195;  Zollicoffer  Me- 
morial (near  Russell  Springs), 
431 
Parksville,  287 


Patchen  Wilkes  Stock  Farm  (near  Lex- 
ington), 210 

Pate  Farm  House  (near  Lewisport), 
405-406 

Patterson,  Dr.  James  K.,  359 

Payne  Manor  (Warsaw),  336 

Paynes  Depot,  353 

Peak  of  Pinnacle  Mountain,  278 

Peavine's  Highland  Chief  Stud,  253 

Penn,  Shadrach,  103 

Pennyrile,  315,  378.  See  also  Natural 
Setting 

Perry  ville,  Battle  of,  378.  See  also  His- 
tory 

Pet  Milk  Company  Plant  (Mayfield), 
323 

Peters  Creek,  295 

Petrie,  Cordia  Greer,  433 

Petroleum,  see  Manufacturing  and  Min- 
ing 

Pettit,  William,  254 

Pewee  Valley,  348 

Phaeton  (boat),  333 

Phoenix  Hotel  (Lexington),  210 

Physiographic  regions,  7-11: 

Mountains,  8;  Knobs,  8;  Bluegrass, 
8-10;  Pennyrile,  10-11;  Western 
Coal  Field,  11;  Purchase,  11 

Pike  County  Fish  and  Game  Associa- 
tion Fish  Hatchery  (Elkhorn 
City),  437 

Pikeville,  241 

Pilot  Knob,  243 

Pilot  Rock  (near  Fairview),  384 

Pine  Knot,  261 

Pine  Mountain,  438 

Pine  Mountain  Settlement  School  (near 
Dillon),  439-40 

Pine  Mountain  State  Park,  276 

Pineville,  276 

"Pinhooker,"  352 

Pinnacle  of  Pine  Mountain,  276 

Pioneer   Cemetery    (Harrodsburg),    172 

Pioneer  Memorial  Fountain  (Rich- 
mond), 268 

Pioneer  Memorial  State  Park  (Har- 
rodsburg), 171 

Pippapass  (near  Hindman),  426 

Pisgah  Presbyterian  Church  (near  Lex- 
ington), 397 

Pisgah  Presbyterian  Church  (near  Som- 
erset), 260 

PLANT  LITE,  16-24 

Planters'  Hotel  (Owensboro),  407 

Plaschke,  Paul,   120-21 

Playhouse,  University  of  Louisville,  116 

Pleasureville,  398 

Pluggy   (Mingo  chief),  264-65 

"Poage  Settlement,"  141 

Polk,  Gen.  Leonidas,  325-26 


INDEX  485 


Pollard  House  (near  Eminence),  345 

Pond  Branch,  282 

Pond  River,  359 

Pope  Home   (Lexington),  201 

Pope   (John)   House   (Springfield),  379 

Pope,  Senator  John,  201 

Poplar  Mountain,  445 

Population  (Kentucky),  see  History 

Population  (Louisville),  182,  183 

Pork,  see  Agriculture 

Porter,  James  D.  (Kentucky  Giant), 
191 

Portland  Canal,  see  Louisville  and 
Portland  Canal 

Potatoes,  see  Agriculture 

Pottinger,  Col.  Samuel,  290-91 

Poultry,  see  Agriculture 

Pound  Gap,  242 

Powell  (Lazarus)  House  (Henderson), 
408-409 

Powersville,  334 

Prehistoric  Burial  Ground  (Harlan), 
441 

Prehistoric  Canal  (near  Hickman), 
327-28 

Prehistoric  Mound  (near  Elizabeth- 
town),  298 

Prentice,  George  D.,  103 

Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary 
(Louisville),  190 

Presbyterians,  see  Religion 

PRESS  AND  RADIO,  102-106 

Preston  House  (near  Milton),  340 

Prestonsburg,  240 

Prewitt  (David)  Place  (near  Winches- 
ter), 395 

Price's  Meadow,  443 

Priestly,  John,  83 

Princeton,  360 

Prospect,  340 

Providence  Church  (near  Winchester), 
420 

Pryor,  Judge  W.  S.,  346 

Pryor  House  (New  Castle),  346 

Public  Advertiser,  184 

Public  Library  (Lexington),  206 

Public  Library   (Louisville),  191 

Public  Library   (Maysville),  363 

Public  school  system,  85-86 

Purchase,  see  Natural  Setting 

Quicksand,  244-45 

Raceland,  234 

RADIO,  106-109 

Radio  Stations: 

WHAS  (Louisville,  Ky.) ;  WSM 
(Nashville,  Tenn.) ;  WAVE 
(Louisville,  Ky.) ;  WCKY  (Cov- 
ington,  Ky.) ;  WPAD  (Paducah, 


Ky.) ;  WLAP  (Lexington,  Ky.) ; 
WOMI  (Owensboro,  Ky.) ; 
WCMI  (Ashland,  Ky.) ;  WFBM 
(Indianapolis,  Ind.) ;  WGRC 
(New  Albany,  Ind.,  and  Louis- 
ville, Ky.) 

Rafmesque,  Constantine,  205-206 

Railroads,  see  Transportation 

Raines,  John,  37 

Rainfall,  see  Natural  Setting 

Rambler  in  America,  180 

Redbird  Creek,  430 

Reed  House  (Maysville),  364 

Reelfoot  Lake,  180,  328.  See  also  Natu- 
ral Setting 

Reforestation  (Quicksand),  244-45.  See 
also  Plant  Life 

Rehobeth  Springs  (near  Wade's  Gap), 
445 

Reign  of  Law,  52,  122,  374 

RELIGION,  77-82 

Religious  revival,  372-73.  See  also  Reli- 
gion 

Remarks  Made  on  a  Tour  to  Prairie 
Du  Chien,  181 

Rhodes,  Anne,  291-92 

Rice,  Alice  Hegan,  124,  184 

Rice,  Ann,  120 

Rice,  Cale  Young,  124-25,  184;  birth- 
place, 318 

Rice,  "Father"  David,  84,  258,  283 

Rice,   Thomas   D.    (Louisville),   188-89 

Richmond,  267 

Richmond,  Battle  of,  267 

Richmond  Cemetery,  268 

Riddle,  Samuel,  216 

Ridgeway  (near  Louisville),  400.  See 
also  Architecture 

Rife  Springs  (near  West  Liberty),  416 

Riverside  Institute  (Lost  Creek),  245 

Riverview  (near  Ghent),  338 

Roberts,  Elizabeth  Madox,  123;  birth- 
place, 379 

Roberts,  Samuel  J.,  106 

Rock  House  (near  Paintsville) ,  239 

Rock  shelters  (near  Elizabethtown), 
298;  (near  Munfordville),  302. 
See  also  Archeology 

Rockcastle  River,  431 

Rogers,  John  A.  R.,  269 

Romanesque,  see  Architecture 

Rough  River,  357 

Rowan,  John,  380 

Royal  Spring  (Georgetown),  264 

Rose  Hill  (Lexington),  210.  See  also 
Architecture 

Rosedale  (formerly  Johnson's  Inn) 
(near  Paris),  418 

Rumsey,  358 


486  INDEX 

Rush  Museum   (Lexington),  205-206 
Russell,  234 
Russell  Springs,  287 
Russellville,  383 
Rye,  S3 

Sacramento,  358 

Salem,  411 

Salem  Academy   (Bardstown),  380 

Salley   (or  Sailing),  John  Peter,  35-36 

Sally  Ann's  Experience,  307 

Saltpeter  Cave,  279 

Sal  visa,  283 

Salyersville,   416 

Sandlin,  Willie,  430 

Sandy  Valley  (steamer),  241 

Sawyier,  Paul,  119 

Sax,  Carol,  115 

Sayre   College    (Lexington),   209 

Scarlet  Gate   (near  Lexington),  374 

Science  Hill   ( Shelby ville),  398 

Scott,  Gen.  Charles,  354 

Scott  House  (near  Versailles),  354 

Scottish  Rite  Temple  (Louisville),  190 

Scottsville,  295 

Scrap  Iron  Yards  (Ashland),  144 

Seelbach  Hotel  (Louisville),  189 

Semet-Solvay    Coke    Plant    (Ashland), 

144 

Semple,  Ellen  Churchill,  184 
Seneca  Park   (Louisville),  195 
"Senging,"  244 
Seventy-Six  Falls,  288 
Sewell  Mountain,  288,  445 
Shaker    Colony,    Remnants    of    (near 

Bowling  Green),  382-83 
Shakers,  376.  See  also  Religion 
Shakertown,  375-76 
Shannon      Methodist      Church      (near 

Washington),  352 

Shawnees,  see  Archeology  and  Indians 
Sheep,  see  Agriculture 
Shelbiana,  437 
Shelby,  Gov.  Isaac,  42 
Shelby  ville,  398 

Sherman  Tavern   (Crittenden),  264 
Shinbone   (near  Jamestown),  288 
Shipbuilding   (Paducah),  224 
Showalter    House    (Georgetown),    265. 

See  also  Architecture 
Shropshire   House    (Georgetown),    265. 

See  also  Architecture 
Shryock,  Cincinnatus,  204 
Shryock,  Gideon,  118,  130,  185-86 
Silsbee,  Nathaniel,  304 
Simpsonville,  399 
Sinai,  355 

"Singin*  Billy"  Walker,  92 
Singing  school,  92 
Sinking  Spring,  292 


"Sister  Dolorosa,"  122 

Skaggs,  Henry,  37 

Sketches  of  Louisville,  112 

Slade,  243 

Slate  Creek  Iron  Furnace  (near  Ow- 
ingsville),  392 

Slaughter,    Col.   George,    179 

Slaughter,  Gabriel,   171 

Slavery,  72,  81.  See  also  History 

Smith  (Benjamin)  House  (Louisville), 
190 

Smith,  Geri.  Kirby,  44-45,  346 

Smith  Hotel  (Elizabethtown),  300 

Smith  (Thomas)  House  (New  Castle), 
346 

Smithland,  411-12 

Smith's  Grove,  305 

Smith's  Wagon  Road,  362 

Soils,  see  Geology 

Soldiers'  Cave,  279 

Soldier's  Memorial   (Lexington),  206 

Somerset,  260 

Sons  of  America,  44 

South  Elkhorn  Baptist  Church,  375 

South  Portsmouth,  330 

South  Union,  383 

Southern  Bank  Building  (Russellville), 
383 

Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary 
(Louisville),  195-96 

Southern  Harmony,  92 

Southern  Hotel  (Paducah),  226 

Southgate  House,  247 

Spahr  (W.  R.)  House  (near  Winches- 
ter), 395 

Sparta,  282 

Speed,   James,   289-90 

Speed,  Joshua,  289-90 

Speed  Memorial  Museum  (Louisville), 
194 

Spindletop   (near  Lexington),  217-18 

Spottswood,  Alexander  E.,  295 

Spottswood  House    (Glasgow),  295 

Springfield,  378 

St.  Asaph  or  Logan's  Fort,  Site  of 
(Stanford),  258-59.  See  also 
History 

St.  Helen's,  400 

St.  Joseph's  College   (Bardstown),  380 

St.  Joseph's  Proto-Cathedral  (Bards- 
town), 381-82 

St.  Louis  Post  Dispatch,  108 

St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral 
(Covington),  152-54 

St.  Matthews,  400 

St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church  (Hender- 
son), 409 

St.  Vincent's  Academy  (near  Morgan- 
field),  410 

Stamping  Ground,  343 


INDEX 


487 


Stanford,  258 

Stanton,   243 

State  Armory  ( Hopkins ville),  321 

State  Arsenal   (Frankfort),  165 

State  bird,  49 

State  Cemetery   (Frankfort),  165 

State  flag,  49 

State  flower,  49 

State  highway  system,  47 

State   Industrial   Institute    (Frankfort), 

166 

State  Penitentiary  (Eddyville),  361 
State  song,  49 
Statistical     Abstract     of     the     United 

States,  68 
Stearns,  261 

Stevenson  Home  (Covington),  151-52 
Stewart  Home  Training  School,  282 
Stigall,  Mrs.,  317 
Stites  House    (Hopkinsville),  320 
Stockton,  George,  364 
Stone,    Reverend    Barton    W.,    372-73. 

See  also  Religion 

Stone  Bowls  (near  Flemingsburg) ,  365 
Stone,  Uriah,  37 
Stone  Wall  (near  Nugents'  Crossroads), 

353 

Stoner  Creek,  371 
Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  257 
Stringtown  on  the  Pike,  263 
Strode  Cabin,  Site  of   (near  Winches- 
ter), 394-95 
Stuart,  Jesse,  124 
Stubblefield,  Nathan  B.,  108,  385 
Sturgis,  410 

Sublimity   Farms   (near   London),   272 
Sue  Bennet   College    (London),  272 
Supplement  to  Kentucky  Harmony,  92 
Suspension  Bridge  (Covington),  149-50, 

151 
Swallow    Spring    (near    Hopkinsville), 

321 

Swan  Pond  (near  Wickliffe),  413 
Swift,  John,  37,  237 
Sycamore  Shoals,  38 

Talbott  Hotel  (Bardstown),  381 
Tar  Springs  (near  Cloverport),  404 
"'Tater  Day"  (Benton),  386 
Taylor,  Bayard,  296 
Taylor,  Hubbard,  246 
Taylor,  James,  246-47,  248 
Taylor  Mansion  (Newport),  248 
Taylor  (Zachary)   House,  340-41 
Taylor      Memorial      Cemetery      (near 

Louisville),  340-41 
Taylor    Methodist    Episcopal    Church 

(Newport),  248 
Taylor,  William  Sylvester,  46 
Taylor,  Zachary,  341 


Teachers'  colleges,  see  Education 

THEATER,  110-16 

Thistelton  (near  Frankfort),  397-98 

Thomas,  Arthur,  120,  189 

Thomas  Lake  Fishing  Club  (near 
Owenton),  343 

Thompson,  John  B.,  171 

Thousand  Sticks,  428 

Thrasher,  Caroline,  Grave  of  (near 
Lewisport),  406 

Tilghman   Statue   (Paducah),  228 

Time  of  Man,  123 

Times  (Louisville),  105 

Tobacco,  281;  "dark  fire-cured"  (Pa- 
ducah), 224;  markets,  198,  207. 
See  also  Agriculture 

Tolu,  411    . 

Tom  Moore  Distillery,  290 

Tompkinsville,  447 

Towers  (near  Kentucky -Virginia  Line), 
437 

Towhead  Island  (Louisville),  188 

Townsend,  John  Wilson,  Library 
(Richmond),  268 

Tradewater   River,  317 

Trail  of  the  Lonesome  Pine,  123 

"Traipsin'  Woman's"  cabin  (near  Ash- 
land), 93,  236 

TRANSPORTATION,  56-59: 
Waterways,  57;  railroads,  58;  high- 
way,  59;   airlines,  59 

Transylvania  Land  Company,  38,   169 

Transylvania  Park  (Henderson),  408 

Transylvania  University  (Lexington), 
199,  205.  See  also  Education 

Trappists,  291 

Traveler's  Rest,  Site  of  (near  Junction 
City),  287 

Travels  in  the  United  States  in  1817, 
112 

Travels  on  an  Inland  Voyage,  412 

Treaty  of  Paris,  36 

Trigg  Fish  Hatchery  (near  Glasgow), 
433 

Trotting  Track   (Lexington),  207 

Troublesome  Creek  Valley,  425 

Troye,  Edward,  119 

True  American,  44 

Tug  Fork,  237 

Tunnel  Mill  (Dwarf),  427 

"Two  Gentlemen  of  Kentucky,"  122 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky,  348 

Tyrone,  355 

Uncas  (steamboat),  180-81 
Under  the  Tree,  123 
Union  College  (Barbourville),  275.  See 
also  Education 


INDEX 


Unionism,  see  Labor 

United  States  Veterans  Hospital  (Out- 
wood),  360 

University  Farm  (Lexington),  209 

University  of  Kentucky  (Lexington), 
200,  207-209;  College  of  Agricul- 
ture, 244-45.  See  also  Education 

University  of  Louisville  (Louisville), 
193-94.  See  also  Education 

Upton,  301 

U.  S.  Coast  Guard  Station  (Louisville), 
188 

U.  S.  Geological  Survey  Bulletin,  7 

U.  S.  Government  Dam  (Louisville), 
186-88 

U.  S.  Lock  4  (Frankfort),  167 

Usher,  Noble  Luke,  see  Theater 

Vanceburg,  331-32 
Versailles,  397 
Vincennes,  39 

Waco  and  By  bee  Potteries  (near  Rich- 
mond), 268 

Wade's  Gap,  445 

Walker,  Dr.  Thomas,  36 

Walker,  Dr.  Thomas  State  Park,  275 

Walker,  Ferdinand  G.,  120 

Wallace,  Gen.  Lew,  149,  223-24 

Wallace,  Tom,   105 

Walnut  Grove  Farm  (near  Lawrence- 
burg),  355 

Walnut  Hall  Stock  Farm  (near  Lexing- 
ton), 217 

War  between  the  States,  182.  See  also 
History 

War  Memorial  (Spanish-American), 
249 

War  of  1812  (Kentuckians  in),  see 
History 

Warfield,  414 

Warfield,  Catherine  A.,  349 

Warrenwood   (near  Danville),  287 

Warriors'  Path,  274 

Warsaw,  336 

Washington,  366 

Washington  County  Courthouse 
(Springfield),  378 

Washington,  George,  237 

Water-power  Gristmill  (Mill  Springs), 
442, 

Water  Valley,  324 

Waterways,    see    Transportation 

Watkins  House  ( Shelby ville),  398 

Watterson,  Henry  W.,  104,  189 

Waverly  Hills  Tuberculosis  Sanatorium 
(near  Louisville),  400 

Weinman,  A.  A.,  119-20,  292 

Weir  House   (Greenville),  359 


Well  Hole,  279 

Wendover  (near  Hyden),  430.  See  also 
Frontier  Nursing  Service 

West  Liberty,  416 

West  Point,  401 

West,  William  Edward,  118 

Western  Coal  Field,  11 

Western  Kentucky  State  Teachers'  Col- 
lege, 307 

Western  Military  Academy  (near  Emi- 
nence), 345 

Western  State  Hospital  (near  Hopkins- 
ville),  384 

Wharf  and  Waterfront  (Louisville), 
186-88 

Whisky,  see  Manufacturing 

"White  Cowl,"  122 

White,  Gilbert,  120 

Whitehall  (Lexington),  209 

Whitehall  (near  Richmond),  267 

Whitesburg,  245 

Whitestone,  Henry,  135-36 

Whitfield  House   (Paducah),  228 

Whitley  City,  261 

Whitley,  Col.  William,  259 

Whitley  County  Courthouse,  273 

Whitley  House  (near  Stanford),  259. 
See  also  Architecture 

Whitney  (C.  V.)  Farm  (near  Lexing- 
ton), 213 

Wickland,  "Home  of  Three  Governors" 
(near  Bardstown),  356.  See  also 
Architecture 

Wickliffe,  413 

Wickliffe,  Charles  A.,  356 

Wickliffe,  Robert  Charles,  356 

Wilderness  Road,  274 

Wiley,  Jennie,  240 

Wilkinson,  James,   158-59,   199 

William  Cave  Farm  (near  Upton),  301 

Williams,  Charles  Sneed,  119 

Williams,  Charles  Warner,  119 

Williams'  Halfway  Inn  (near  Kilgore), 
389 

Williams'  Natural  History  Museum 
(Covington),  152 

Williamsburg,  273 

Williamstown,  264 

Wilmore,  375 

Winchester,  393-94 

Windsor  Hotel   (Paris),  372 

Winn  (John)  Place  (near  Winchester), 
395 

Wood,  Col.  Abram,  35 

Woodfill,  Capt.  Samuel,  46 

Woodlawn  (near  Richmond),  268.  See 
also  Architecture 

Woodson,  Urey,  106 

Woolridge  Monuments  (Mayfield),  323 


INDEX  489 

Wooten,  428  Yocum  Falls  (near  West  Liberty),  416 

Wright,  John  ("Devil  John"),  426  Young's  High  Bridge,  355 

Xalapa  (near  North  Middletown),  417.  Zollicoff       Gen.  Felix  K.,  44-45,  431 

See  also  Architecture  Zollicoffer  Memorial  Park,  431 

Yandell,  Enid,   119,   184  Zolnay,  George  Julian,   120 

Yeiser  House  (Danville),  286  Zula,  445